


Hopeless Places

by ttank



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reality Show, Big Bang Challenge, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-15
Updated: 2013-07-15
Packaged: 2017-12-20 07:04:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 42,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/884368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ttank/pseuds/ttank
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared is a hopeless romantic who winds up on the popular reality show “A Twin Chance At Love”. While trying to win the affections of blonde bombshell Justina Jeffrey he befriends Cowboy, a green-eyed party boy from his home state. Cowboy is his lifeline in a house full of crazy contestants, and it’s not long before Jared finds himself falling hard for him. With the cameras always watching and 250,000 dollars on the line Jared has to decide who he wants, before it’s too late.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Premiere

**Author's Note:**

> To eyestoowide for not only being a fantastic artist but for holding my hand through my first BB. You're awesome and I wouldn't have made it without you. To keep_waking_up for dealing with my dumb mistakes and the ultra quick beta. And last but not least to nagrons, for being there in the beginning.

Jared scuffs his boots nervously against the tile floor, tugging at the loose collar of his plaid shirt. The room is filled to the brim with pretty boys and divas, fixing their hair while gazing in every shiny surface and dabbing at caking make-up. He’s a farm boy from Texas; there’s no way he’s going to be able to compete with these people.

Jared thinks back to when he made the submission video, his little sister giggling behind the camera. She didn’t tell him what it was for until he’d gotten the call back. He’d been half drunk at the time, but he can distinctly recall rambling on about how hard it was to find someone to be with, not just a one night stand.

Jared feels his face heating up at the thought of anyone seeing it. The casting director had told him it was that outlook that had cinched the spot for him. The man wasn’t exactly subtle in saying they were looking for a love-sick kid, not a party boy. Like he and his fellow cast members were starring in a movie and not a reality show.

He looks up when a tiny woman with an extra foot in backcombed hair grabs him by the arm.

“C’mon sweetheart,” she rasps, voice like she’d just smoked a half a pack of cigarettes. He wrinkles his nose; she smells like cigarettes too. Jared barely resists wincing as she plops him down in a make-up chair and starts tugging at his hair. Her giant tits are pushed right up against his face, the cheap perfume she’s wearing clogging his throat when he tries to breathe. Jared inwardly curses Megan for getting him into this.

 

The show is airing on MTV, the concept being two bisexual twins looking for love with 15 lucky contestants. Justin and Justina are both really hot, something he made the mistake of telling his sister when he saw promos for the show. And now here he is, covered in make-up and face smushed into someone’s boobs. Great.

The big twist in the show was that all the contestants were bi too, so everyone would be competing for both twins. Also, Justin and Justina’s favorite contestants in the end get the choice between being with them, or taking the 250,000 dollar grand prize.

He’s fantasizing about Justina’s wide blue eyes and long tanned legs when the woman finally pulls back. She nods, making the pouf on the top of her head wobble dangerously. Before he knows it, he’s being dragged back to the waiting room. “You just take a seat,” she says, already turning down the corridor.

Jared sits down in a huff, trying to make himself smaller in the crowded room. Glancing around, he starts to take in his future competition. There’s a gorgeous girl with black hair sitting against the wall. She’s chatting with an effeminate man with bright purple glasses and spiked hair. Both of them look fairly friendly.

Beside them are two girls who look like they’re about to get in a fight. One is decked out in full metal gear, her whole face pierced, and she’s wearing a band t-shirt with a name he’s never heard of. The other girl is all pink. She’s wearing a teeny-tiny skirt and she flips her long blonde hair over her shoulders with nearly every word. Jared can’t tell what they’re arguing about, but he guesses it’s nothing good.

His eyes stick on a guy wedged between them. He’s wearing a cowboy hat and isn’t trying trying to stop the argument at all. He offers a little remark every couple of seconds, smirking when their voices get louder and louder. He catches Jared looking and grins. “Hey! Where ya from?”

Jared smiles back, feeling less out of place suddenly. “Texas, you?”

The guy’s out of his seat before Jared finishes the question, wriggling into the tiny space beside Jared and throwing an arm around him. This must be the party boy.

“Me too man!” He says, bouncing a little. “I knew it when I saw ya. Never seen a belt buckle that big outside of Texas.”

Jared smirks. “Well it’s gotta go with the rest of me, doesn’t it?”

The other man barks out a laugh, slapping Jared on the back. He laughs with his whole body, shoulders drawn up and head thrown back. Jared notices that he’s maybe the best looking guy he’s ever seen, with green eyes and pink bowed lips. He dismisses the thought. This is a competition, he can’t go checking out his rivals.

 

Green-eyes is looking at him intently, like he’s deciding something. He nods to himself. “You’re awesome.” Matter-of-fact-like. “This is gonna be awesome.”

Jared fights down a grin. “I’m Jared.”

Green-eyes is about to reply when the big doors at the end of the room swing open and swarm of people usher them out into the hallway. Jared loses track of him in the crowd, stuck between two strangers. He’s relieved when a man claps his hands together, calling for attention.

“Guys, listen up!” He yells. “You’ve already been fitted with mics. Under no circumstances are you to take off the mics or talk to the camera crew. Your life is property of MTV now, got it?” There’s a murmur from around the room, and the man must take it as agreement, because he keeps going. “Only other rules are no fighting, no leaving without permission, and no drugs.”

Jared glances around. He has a feeling that’s going to be tough with this crowd. The man’s clapping again, noise from the crowd beginning to drown him out. “While you’re in the house you go by your nickname, we don’t need your real names here. Form two single file lines people, and try to make a good impression. If you’re lucky, you’ll be living with this name for awhile.”

Everyone hustles to make a line, some pushing to the front and others hanging back. Jared shuffles in, scanning the heads for a cowboy hat.

Green-eyes catches his gaze and winks, “See you around Sasquatch.” Jared grabs his belt buckle suggestively, smiling when the other man doubles over in laughter.

Jared stands in line for what seems like forever, trying to think of something charming to say to the twins when he walks in. He goes through a couple cheesy lines in his head, but when it’s his turn to step through the doors, Jared’s head is one big blank. His pulse is racing when he enters the bright room. He’s about to be face to face with Justina Jeffrey.

At first, he’s almost blinded by the glint of the camera’s. There must be a thousand of them, all pointed at him. There’s a PA gesturing at him to get a move on, and he finally looks at the girl in front of him.

Woah. She’s even hotter in real life. All bombshell blond curls and generous curves. She’s like a real life barbie. “Hey,” he drawls, giving her his widest smile.

“Oooh,” she coos. “Aren’t you a cutie? Maybe I should call you Dimples.” He flushes, running a hand through his hair. “Where you from, Dimples?”

Jared looks up at her through his bangs, “Texas.”

Justina smiles brightly at him, “I always was a sucker for those accents, I think I’ll call you Tex.”

He rocks back on his heels, hands still in his belt loops, “That’s just fine with me.” She gives him one last mega-watt smile before he’s pushed out of the room.

Jared almost stumbles into the small dark skinned girl he’d seen in the waiting room. She blinks up at him, steadying him with a hand on his arm. “It’s a lot to take in isn’t it.”

Jared nods, rubbing a hand over his mouth nervously. “Don’t think I’m gonna get used to be calling Tex.”

She laughs, long black hair rippling over her shoulders. “At least they didn’t call you Kitty.”

Jared winces. “You’re right, that’s worse.”

Jared and Kitty walk into the adjoined room together, it’s already filled with the other contestants.

Green-eyes is waiting for him, cowboy hat pulled low over his eyes. “Hey, so what’d you get? I bet they called you Sasquatch. Or Gigantor.”

“Nah,” he smiles, reaching down to tweak the brim of the other man’s straw hat. “They called me Tex.”

“Tex, huh?” he says, mouth quirking up in a smile. “Well I’m Cowboy.” He reaches up to ruffle Jared’s hair, grinning mischievously. Jared catches his arm and tries to twist it away but the other man’s too fast, ducking down to poke him hard in the ribs. By the time the limo’s come to pick them up, Jared has Cowboy in a sturdy headlock and Cowboy’s trying his best to gnaw off his arm. He’s pretty sure this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

 

When they roll up to the mansion Justin and Justina are already there, posing conveniently on the steps. They line up at the bottom, looking up at the twins like performers on a stage. Justin pulls out a blue loudspeaker and shouts down, “Are you ready to see your new house?” The effect is mostly ruined by the cue card floating behind Jared’s head, he tries to ignore it.

There’s a chorus of replies from the group, the loudest being from Cowboy, who’s practically vibrating beside him.

“Well, what are you waiting for!” Justina says from a matching pink speaker. And, like magic, the doors swing open.

Cowboy’s off like a shot, bounding up the steps. Jared’s pulled right alongside him, trying not to trip on his own feet. “C’mon man, we gotta get the best room.”

 

Cowboy rejects three different rooms, a luxury that the people behind them don’t have. “No bathroom,” he says to one. “There’s no way you’re fitting in that bed,” to another. They’re about to go up another flight of stairs when Cowboy stops in his tracks, “Holy shit, Gigantor. Look up there!”

Jared follows his line of vision and sees some sort of ladder, leading way up towards the second floor of the mansion. It’s a giant indoor terrace, overlooking the living room area. Jared can make out the shape of two beds at the top, as well as what looks like a giant circular couch. If that doesn’t make up his mind, prime access to the kitchen definitely does.

Cowboy’s already half way up the ladder by the time he’s taken it all in. “Dude, it’s like a bird’s nest,” he shouts. And it kind of is. The rest of the rooms are off on the separate hallways far below them, giving them the perfect view of the the goings on downstairs. Jared clambers up, looking down when he reaches the top of the ladder.

“This is perfect,” Jared says. Cowboy tugs on the back of his shirt, making him fall back on the plush couch.

The other man stretches his arms and legs, not even brushing the corners of the sofa. “Is this like one of those sex beds? It’s like sitting on a cloud made of cotton candy.” Jared grins at him, propping himself up on his elbow.

“I don’t think they make sex beds in this color, man,” Jared says. But the description’s spot on. The thing is huge, made up of feathery pink fabric and covered in a thousand pillows in varying shades of neon pink. Cowboy sits up suddenly, and the whole bed swivels, rotating them to face the kitchen. He glances back at Jared, eyes huge. “Tex. This is totally a sex bed. The holy fucking grail of sex beds.”

Jared hops off and grabs it by its side, spinning it round and round. He laughs when Cowboy lays down, screaming in falsetto, “Faster, faster! Oooh, do me harder baby!”

Jared flops down beside him clutching his belly, the bed still spinning. “Dude, it’s totally not a sex bed. It’s like a merry-go-round you sleep on.”

Cowboy raises an eyebrow at him, quieting for a moment before swinging a leg over Jared’s hips. He laughs manically before bouncing up and down, grabbing at imaginary tits. “Oh Tex, do me harder!” He screams.

Jared can’t help laughing, even when he notices the cameras mounted around the room and realizes that his Mom’s probably going to see this.

 

The mansion is like a cheery Halloween fun house. The theme is obviously pink and blue, but there’s so much of it, that it all melts together and gives you a headache, like you just watched a really long, really bright 3D movie.

There’s one blue and one pink couch, located just below the balcony. Two hot tubs outside, right beside two matching pools joined in the middle with a water slide. And right in the middle of the living room are two old style photobooths, pink and blue. At first Jared thought they actually had phones to call their families but upon further inspection they discover they’re meant to do “confessionals” inside them once a day.

After checking out the whole main floor they end up by the pool. It’s hotter than hell outside and Cowboy wastes no time in stripping off his clothes and diving in, muscled back slicing through the water. Jared ambles after him, trying not to stare.

Cowboy surfaces noisily, splashing water onto the pink tiled deck. After close inspection of the slide he kicks over to the edge, resting his forearms next to where Jared’s dipping his feet in the water. He notices a torn-up scar on the top of his collarbone, rippling down across his arm. “How’d you get that?” He asks.

Cowboy glances down, like he’d forgot about it. “Broke it playing football,” he says, running a finger over the raised skin idly. “Cracked it in two places and dislocated the shoulder.” Jared winces in sympathy. “Couldn’t play for almost a year, had to go to physical therapy.”

Jared finds himself wanting to touch it too, the scar jagged and pink over Cowboy’s tan skin. “That sucks, man,” he replies.

Cowboy shrugs, “It wasn’t so bad. They fixed me up like new again. That’s when I started thinking I could do something like that as a job, you know?”

Jared raises his eyebrows, “You’re a physical therapist?”

Cowboy chuckles, “I know, not what you’d expect right?”

He shakes his head so fast he makes himself dizzy, “No, no! I mean that’s really cool. That you’d come out of it with something like that.” Jared smiles hugely, and a second later Cowboy returns the grin.

“So what’d you do, Sasquatch?”

Jared plays with the water droplets collecting at the side of the pool. “I’m a vet, nothing too exciting.”  
Cowboy’s floating on his back, looking up at him. “Do you save fluffy kitten’s lives and make dogs wear those cone things on their heads?”

Jared splashes him. “Sometimes.”

Cowboy shakes out his hair, spraying Jared. He grins as he slides out to sit beside him. “Then you’re pretty awesome too.”

Jared finds himself watching water dripping off the tip of Cowboy’s sloped nose. When he meets his eyes, they’re wide and sincere, vivid green a sharp contrast to the gaudy colors of the house. It’s a relief.

Suddenly there’s a huge gong sound and Jared jumps, not realizing how long they’d been sitting here. The clatter of thirteen people running down from their rooms to get to the foyer breaks him out of his trance and Jared stands up. Cowboy’s right behind him, putting his pants on and hopping on one leg through the door. He towels his hair off with his shirt before pulling it over his head, “C’mon man, the twins must be here.”

Sure enough Justin and Justina are standing on the porch, surrounded by a mob of people. Jared takes in the cameras set-up around him as Justina starts to speak. “Hi guys, how do you like the new house?”

Everyone cheers, but the good mood is broken when the tattooed girl that had been arguing next to Cowboy on the couch speaks up. “How come there’s only thirteen beds?” Jared recalls hearing that Justina had called her Spice, because she’s always trying to spice things up. He resolves to keep an eye on her.

Justin turns toward the camera dramatically, “I’m afraid we’re going to have to send home two of you tonight.” There’s a collective gasp from everyone, like that hasn’t happened on every reality dating show ever.

Justina nods solemnly before perking up, “So make a good impression!”

With that everyone disperses, most pushing to talk to one of the twins and some shyly waiting their turn. Jared turns to ask Cowboy what he thinks of the whole thing only to find the space beside him empty. He hears his booming laugh a moment later and sees him standing right beside Justin.

The twin looks like he’s already fallen in love. Cowboy’s all over him, arm around his shoulder and whispering right up close to his ear. The preppy girl who’d had the altercation with Spice from the beginning is vying for attention on the other side, but looks like she’s failing miserably. Jared watches her twirling her long blonde hair around a finger impatiently, Blondie was an appropriate name. Jared tears his eyes away and resolves to go talk to Justina.

He finds her sitting on the couch with a huge guy who he thinks is called Butch. Justina’s perched on his lap and looks pretty uncomfortable. Her azure eyes light up when she sees Jared and she stands up quickly from the man’s lap. Butch glares at him from behind her. “Tex! I was just looking for you!”

He leads her towards the middle of the room, taking her small hand in his. “I was looking for you too.”

Justina smiles, craning her neck to look at him. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as tall as you.”

Jared laughs, even though he’s heard girls say that about a million times. “Nah, it just looks that way cause you’re so itty-bitty.” She seems to like that, leaning further towards him. There’s a long pause, which is interrupted when a girl with freckles and a deep smoky voice sashay’s up and asks for a moment with Justina. Jared doesn’t want her to go but the petite woman nods. “Sure thing Ginger, see ya later Tex.”

She squeezes his hand, giving him a long look before walking away hand in hand with the red-head.

It’s starting to get dark already, but everyone seems to be migrating towards the pool. The sides are illuminated by alternating blue and pink lights, making the water glow. He can see Justina slipping in slowly and he pauses to watch as she gets in. The lights make her face look flawless, like a doll. She’s got a tattoo winding around her left bicep and ending in a heart over her left breast. He finds himself thinking of Cowboy’s scar, shiny and crooked on his chest. The tattoo is sort of tacky in comparison. Jared turns away and starts climbing up the ladder to get his swimsuit on.

Cowboy’s already up there, tearing through his suitcase. He looks up for a moment when Jared gets there. “Hey! Did you talk to them yet?”

Jared shrugs, finding his own suitcase. “Sort of, not for very long.”

Cowboy furrows his eyebrows, lips pursing together. “Whaddaya mean ‘sort of’?! Didn’t you hear? You gotta make a first impression Sasquatch, or you’ll get cut!” Jared’s confused, and it must show cause Cowboy sighs. “Look, you have to do something so they’ll remember you, or else when it’s time to get rid of someone, they won’t care if you get sent home.”

Jared nods, stripping off his shirt and stepping into his shorts. “Okay, I’ll talk to them,” he says.

When Jared gets his shirt over his head, Cowboy saunters over to him, staring at his chest. He brings up his hand and traces over the top of his abs and Jared shivers slightly.

“Never mind man. You don’t need to say anything.” Jared barely has time to process the words before Cowboy’s disappearing down the ladder. “Let’s go, we’re missin’ the party!”

Jared hardly believes his eyes when he gets down the ladder. They’ve only be gone for a few minutes and the whole place has transformed. There’s club music bumping out of a pair of speakers in the wall and someone’s dancing on the pool table. A shit-load of drinks has been laid out in the living room, and there’s about ten people crowded in the pool. “Wow,” he breathes.

Cowboy grins up at him. “Hurry up, Gigantor. Before what’s-her-face drinks all the shots.”

The rest of the night passes in a blur. He does about a hundred shots with Cowboy, quickly followed by a water fight in the pool. Jared remembers Justina’s hands ghosting over his chest, her body pressed tight to his side. He tries to forget that it felt a whole lot better when Cowboy did it.

They barely make it up the ladder at the end of the night, wobbling precariously and trying not to fall. He watches unabashedly when Cowboy strips down to his boxers and climbs into bed. Jared curls up on the definitely-not-made-for-sex bed and promptly passes out.


	2. Episode One

Jared wakes up five hours later feeling like he got hit by a truck. It’s only seven in the morning, but he’s so used to getting up early for runs that his internal clock won’t let him go back to sleep. He sits up slowly on the bed, trying to figure out exactly how much he had to drink last night. It didn’t seem like much, but those little shots sure packed a punch.

Jared groans and stumbles towards the kitchen. He stops as he passes Cowboy, who’s sound asleep on his stomach. Jared thinks for half a second before shaking him awake out of spite. The other man scrunches his nose and turns to face him, eyes squeezed tight shut. Jared notices that he has dozens of freckles scattered across the bridge of his nose and under his eyes. Make-up must have covered them yesterday. Jared leans in closer, holding his breath. He straightens up fast when Cowboy blinks awake. “Jared?”

Jared clears his throat. “Up and at em’. They always wake people up early on these things, let’s get a head start.”

Cowboy pouts at him. “If I stand up, I’ma puke, dude.”  
Jared rolls his eyes. “Don’t be a baby.” But Cowboy does look a little green, and he drank twice as much as Jared did. He leans down and scoops the other man up, blankets and all, ignoring the indignant squawk from Cowboy.

They’re right beside the kitchen, and Cowboy’s barely even conscious so it’s pretty easy to carry him. Jared sets him down gently in one of the big chairs around the island and pulls the blanket tighter around him. “Sit tight, I’ll make us breakfast.”

Cowboy glares at him, which is adorable with the pillow lines all over his face and his sleep mussed hair. He looks like a cat someone woke up from their afternoon nap. Jared chuckles to himself at the comparison and opens the fridge. The cold air hits him instantly and Jared has to pinch himself before he can decide it’s real.

The fridge is chock-full of every kind of food you could ever imagine. There’s eggs on the top shelf, five different kinds of juice, and, hell yes, bacon. A fuck-ton of bacon. Jared quickly finds a pan and gets the coffee machine working. Within minutes, the whole kitchen smells like simmering grease.

“Dude, this place is awesome,” he tells Cowboy. Who looks like he might have fallen asleep on the island.

Jared places a cup of coffee in front of him and watches in amazement as he reaches out, eyes still closed, to take a gulp from the mug. Cowboy opens his eyes to gaze up at him. “Is that bacon?” Jared nods. Cowboy takes another sip from the mug, cradling it close to his chest. “Marry me,” he purrs, looking for all the world like a cat with a bowl of cream.

Jared’s just dishing out the bacon when the gong sounds from the front door. Cowboy scurries down the ladder to check it out, blanket and all. He returns a moment later with a sealed envelope, ‘Read Me’ written on it.

He settles back into the chair, ripping it open and clearing his throat. “Morning guys, we had a great time last night, but sadly for two of you, your twin chance at love has ended. We’ll be at the mansion at ten AM so you can get in your last word before the elimination tonight. Love and kisses, Justin and Justina.”

Jared glances at the clock. It’s almost eight. “Think we should wake up the others?”

Cowboy gives him a look, bacon hanging half-way out of his mouth. “And share the food? Hell no.”

Jared shakes his head. “Okay, but soon.”

Cowboy agrees, but when they’re done with breakfast, he says they should get a chance to shower first. “That’s the whole reason you woke me up so fucking early isn’t it?”

It’s eight-thirty by the time they finish. They’re on their way to wake everyone up, when Cowboy stumbles across the arcade room, and who can blame them for stopping for a couple games of air hockey. Really.

Jared beats him three times, and Cowboy walks out in a huff. “It’s those long arms, man. There’s no way I can reach as far as you.”

Jared runs to catch up with him, “Don’t be a little bitch just ‘cause you have T-rex arms,” he says.

This results in an impromptu wrestling match, which Cowboy wins, if only cause he fights dirty. From his position on the ground where Cowboy has him pinned, he manages to get a glimpse at the clock. “Holy shit, it’s nine-thirty! Their gonna murder us.”

Cowboy’s off of him in a second, pounding on doors and making as much noise as possible. “Hey pansies!” He yells. “The twins are gonna be here in half an hour, get your lazy asses outta bed!”

Jared smirks at him. “Pansies?” Cowboy shrugs.

The house is suddenly full of activity. There’s only so many bathrooms, and the people who weren’t quick enough to get in are pounding angrily at the doors. Blondie’s near screaming, hair in tangles around her head and still wearing last nights dress.

“I swear to god if you don’t get out of there in 5 minutes I’m breaking this fucking door down!” She shrieks. Jared and Cowboy retreat to their room, hiding in the bazillion pillows of the Holy Grail.

“Do you think they know we’ve been up for two hours?” He asks.

Cowboy gives him a scared look. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”

Jared nods. He wants to live, thank you very much.

They hear voices drifting in from the kitchen a moment later. “Smells like bacon in here,” one says. Cowboy gives him a panicked look. “They were awake long enough to make bacon?” says another. Cowboy grabs his hand, sneaking towards the ladder.

“Quick,” he whispers. “Before they figure it out.”

They’re in the living room, trying desperately to find a place to hide when Jared spots the confessional booths. He gestures at them silently, trying to hold back his laughter when Cowboy scoots along the wall like they’re in a spy movie. He holds up his fingers one at a time, and on three they make a mad dash across the room towards the booths. Jared hears an angry “Hey!” from the kitchen before they slam the door shut behind them.

He turns around and finds himself nose-to-nose with Cowboy. This thing was obviously not built to hold two people. Especially not two people of their size. Cowboy pushes him onto the stool behind them and settles down on his lap. Jared hooks his chin over the other man’s shoulder, looking at the camera in front of them.

“We’re hiding,” Cowboy says in an exaggerated whisper.

Jared nods. “We got distracted in the arcade room and forgot to wake everyone up.”

Cowboy starts talking animatedly about how great the house is and how he wants to live in it forever. Jared doesn’t necessarily agree, but he provides random commentary anyways, tightening his arms around Cowboy’s waist so he doesn’t fall off. He realizes abruptly that they’ve only known each other for a day and he’s not even a little uncomfortable with Cowboy being perched on his knee. He smells like Old Spice and bacon this close up; it’s a pretty great combination.

The sound of the gong jolts him out of his thoughts, and they stumble out of the booth to open the front doors. Justin and Justina are standing on the step looking like something out of a magazine, color-coordinated outfits and blonde hair lit up by the sunlight behind them. Cowboy grabs Justin’s hand, talking a mile-a-minute about how he has to try out the arcade room. Justin looks kind of stunned, but he follows behind, giving a wave to his sister before turning the corner.

Justina smiles fondly. “He’s a different one.”

Jared laughs. “He sure is.”

They go out to the pool side and talk for awhile. Well it’s mostly Justina talking and Jared nodding his head, but Jared finds herself liking her anyways. She’s really sweet, and she bounces when she talks. Which is great, ‘cause her tits kind of jiggle every time she does it.

They’re interrupted by Butch, who shoulders Jared out of the way to plant a kiss on Justina’s lips. She grimaces and tries to push him off, but there’s nowhere for her to go with the pool at her back. Jared frowns. “Hey dude. Back off.”

He grabs Butch by the shoulder, pulling him around to face him. The guy looks like he has roid-rage, muscles bunching and face turning an unnatural purple color. “Fuck off!” He yells, shoving Jared roughly.

Justina looks scared, Butch’s hand possessive on her arm. Jared steps up into his space. “Take your fucking hands off her.”

Before he sees it coming, Butch swings at him, hitting him hard on the cheek. Jared hears Justina cry out, and he can taste the blood flooding his mouth. She’s next to him in a second, cupping his face. “I just bit the inside of my mouth,” he mumbles. “I’m fine.”

The screen door slides open and Jared looks up to see a bunch of people standing there, as well as about five camera men. Cowboy pushes through the crowd, Justin in tow. He drops Justin’s hand when he sees Jared kneeling on the ground and runs to his side. “What the hell happened?”

Jared gestures to Butch, still standing by the pool, huffing like an angry rhino. Cowboy wastes no time getting up in his face. Jared can’t make out what he’s saying but it obviously riles Butch up because it’s mere seconds before he takes another swing. Fortunately Cowboy sees it coming and steps back, dangerously close to the pool. He’s still taunting the larger man, cocky smirk on his lips. Butch lunges at him, grabbing him around the torso and they both hit the water with a splash.

Everyone’s gathered around now and Jared notices security standing by the sidelines. Butch gets a couple good hits to Cowboy’s face and Jared realizes that he’s trying to force his head under the water. He’s up on his feet and in the pool before he has to think about it. Jared pushes through the water as fast as he can, cursing how slow the weight of his clothes makes him. He can see Cowboy’s arms scrabbling for purchase where Butch has him around the neck and Jared fights to stay quiet. It’s not hard, Butch is grunting and swearing under his breath, too focused on Cowboy to notice Jared behind him.

When he finally reaches them, Jared gets him into a headlock, holding him just low enough so his mouth is underwater but he nose stays above. Even an idiot like Butch can figure out if he thrashes around too much he won’t be able to breathe, so he settles down pretty fast.

It’s not enough for Jared though, Cowboy surfaces with a gasp, clutching at his neck. Jared knees Butch hard in the kidneys, forgetting for a moment everyone gathered around them.

That’s when security finally decides to step in, wading into the pool fully clothed and ripping Jared off of Butch. He’s angrier than he’s ever been in his life, the image of Cowboy’s head disappearing under the water burned into his eyelids. One of the guys pushes on his chest. “It’s over buddy.”

Jared’s heart is thumping wildly and he wants to keep fighting, but he knows if he does anything more he’s likely to get kicked off the show. He pulls himself out of the pool, heading back to the group of people gaping at the edge. Cowboy’s already there, taking huge breaths and spitting out water. His lips are bloody but he doesn’t look seriously hurt. Jared wants to make sure he’s okay but Justin seems to have it covered, stroking his hair and dabbing his plush lips with a cloth. Jared feels anger starting to bubble up again, but Justina appears at his arm and he pushes it away. “My hero,” she coos.

Jared grins, letting her coddle him. Other people are trying to get her attention but Justina doesn’t even seem to notice them. There’s no way he’s going home tonight.

Jared doesn’t get a chance to talk to Cowboy before the elimination. They’re whisked off to hair and make-up right away. In the blink of an eye, he finds himself standing with the other contestants, Cowboy all the way across the room. He notices that make-up didn’t even try to cover the beginning of a pretty good black eye. Cowboy’s wincing every time he blinks, but he smiles at Jared anyways.

Jared turns away when Justin and Justina enter from the curtain in front of them, one blue, one pink. They walk up to their podiums, decorated with necklaces hanging around them .Jared can make out the little J’s on each one.

“Justin and I each have six necklaces tonight, since Butch was sent home after the conflict by the pool,” Justina starts. There’s grumbles from everyone around him, and Jared can understand why. This is bullshit. Technically, they only have to get rid of one more person.

“I know if feels like an extra person is going home, but we have to eliminate two of you, and Butch was kicked out.”

Justin nods, picking up when Justina stops. “So when we call your name, come up to get your necklace, if your name isn’t called, your twin shot as love as ended.”

Jared’s pretty relaxed, Justina already likes him. But he feels the tension in the room building at the words. Sure enough, Justina plucks the first necklace off her stand and says, “Tex.”

His heart thuds when he hears it all the same, and he takes a breath before walking up to the podium, flashing her a slow smile. When he’s standing right in front of her she continues, “You were my knight in shining armor today, and you’re super sweet. Will you accept my necklace?”

Jared looks down at her. “‘Course.”

Justina has to rise up on her tip-toes to get the necklace over his head, and he steadies her hips so she doesn’t fall off the podium. She’s giggling when she finally gets it on and bends to place a soft kiss on his cheek. Jared leaves to stand behind her and waits for Justin to take his turn.

Justin plucks a blue necklace off his stand, taking a deep breath. “Cowboy.” Cowboy smiles, strutting up to the front. Justin smiles right back, stars in his eyes. “You’re a whole lot of fun, but you’ve got a serious side too. I can’t wait to see more of it. Will you accept this necklace?”

Cowboy nods and Justin leans in to put the necklace over his head, brushing a chaste kiss on his lips.

Cowboy looks dazed, like he wasn’t expecting it, and walks over to Jared still grinning. They stand side-by-side as the rest of the names are called. He doesn’t even know the people that go home but Cowboy leans over and says, “See, those are the ones that didn’t make an impression.”

Jared tries not to laugh, since one of the girls is full out sobbing. “We sure made an impression didn’t we?”

Cowboy thumbs over the mark on Jared’s cheek where Butch hit him. “We sure did.”

There isn’t a party that night because everyone’s in a bad mood after the eliminations. They’re all sitting in the living room, but no one seems to want to talk. After a few minutes of awkward silence Cowboy gets up, “This is a bummer. Let’s go, Tex.”

He hears one of the girls snicker but chooses to ignore it. He’s had enough drama for one day. Cowboy’s already face down in the Holy Grail when he gets up there, flipping over when the bed dips under Jared’s weight.

“You look like shit,” Jared mutters.

Cowboy rubs at his uninjured eye with a fist. “Yeah, well almost getting drowned will do that to ya.”

Jared’s stomach drops at the memory. “I was going to kill him when he had your head under like that.”

Cowboy blinks at him. “What? You weren’t just defending Justina’s honor?”

Jared laughs. “Yeah well that too.” Cowboy’s accent comes out more when he’s tired, and it reminds Jared of home. The other man’s eyelid’s are drooping, but Jared doesn’t want him to stop talking. “Justin sure likes you,” he says.

Cowboy perks up again. “Yeah, we talked in the arcade before all that shit started. He’s pretty cool.”

Jared hums in agreement but doesn’t say anything else. He doesn’t really want to hear how cool Justin is.

Cowboy’s still looking at him. “Tex? Can I sleep on the Holy Grail tonight? I promise I won’t try an’ molest you again.” He’s looking at him with those big sleepy eyes, face all mottled and bruised. It shouldn’t be as convincing as it is.

Jared sighs and starts getting up, resigning himself to a sleepless night on the too small bed, but Cowboy tugs him back down. “There’s enough room for both of us doofus,” he murmurs, already half asleep.

There really isn’t since they’re both pretty big guys. But this bed is a lot nicer…

Jared doesn’t even finish the thought before falling asleep, the freckles across Cowboy’s nose the last thing he sees.


	3. Episode Two

Jared wakes up on the floor. Should have seen that coming. There’s no way two grown men could comfortably sleep on a round sex bed together. Jared rolls over onto his back and exhales loudly. This is what his life has become.

He props himself up onto his knees and discovers the cause of his discomfort. Cowboy’s spread eagle across the bed, one arm thrown over his face and the other above his head.

“Who sleeps like that?” He wonders out loud. Cowboy sniffles.

Jared walks into the kitchen, knowing it’s no use even waking the other man up if there isn’t coffee made. He’s popping in the filter when he catches sight of the sink.

The whole thing is literally heaping with dishes. A mountain of dishes. The Mount Everest of dishes.

So this is how much fifteen people eat in a day. Jared shakes his head and resolves to do something about it later.

He walks into their room with two plates of toast and scrambled eggs, holding Cowboy’s coffee out to him. Jared watches as once again Cowboy grabs it out of the air and brings it to his lips, eyes tight shut. It’s kind of eerie. Maybe he should try putting it somewhere in the house and to see if he’d track it down. Like those police dogs that can find drugs.

His train of thought is interrupted when Cowboy opens his eyes and says, “Owww.”

Jared looks him over and can see why. His eye’s swollen mostly shut and every time he opens it there’s just more pressure on it. “Keep it closed, I’ll grab some ice.”

Cowboy doesn’t listen to him, he can hear him swearing all the way to the kitchen. Jared’s concerned until he gets back and notices that Cowboy ate both of their eggs. “Fucker,” he says, pressing the ice to his eye.

Cowboy whimpers pitifully, “Be nice to me, I’m hurt.”

Jared snorts. Cowboy continues drinking his coffee, apparently happy with just letting him sit there with a hand on his face. “Dude, how come you don’t have a scratch on you?”

Jared shrugs, feeling a little guilty. “Just lucky I guess.”

“It was pretty cool though,” Cowboy says. Jared just rolls his eyes.

“Let’s go, we got some serious dishes to do.”

Cowboy manages an impressive glare, even with one eye. “Are you for real, Sasquatch? No way you woke me up to do dishes.”

Jared smiles. “I made you coffee didn’t I?”

Cowboy grumbles at him, but when Jared leaves to go to the kitchen he isn’t far behind. Jared looks him up and down. “You might have to let go of the blanket.”

The other man frowns, wrapping the sheet around his waist, “Watch me.”

Cowboy looks as if he just had a one night stand and he couldn’t find his clothes the morning after. With the sheet like that you could almost imagine there was nothing underneath.

Jared drags his eyes away quickly and starts on the dishes. He’s squirting half a bottle of dish soap into the pile when the sound of radio static makes him jump. Cowboy shuffles over, tripping on the sheet. “You can’t do dishes without music, dumb ass.”

Jared dips his hands in the warming water and smiles, his Momma always did have the radio going when she was in the kitchen.

Cowboy does more dancing then he does drying, which results in them both covered in bubbles, slipping across the floor. Every five minutes he cries out, “C’mon Tex! I love this song!” And Jared will flick soap at him, trying to pretend he isn’t laughing. Cowboy gets him dancing eventually though. Jared’s pretty sure Cowboy could convince him to do anything.

They’re part way through Call Me Maybe when the gong sounds. Cowboy refuses to let him leave, saying, “No man this is the best part!”

Jared has a hand phone held to his ear and Cowboy is swinging his hips around wildly. It’s about the funniest thing he’s ever seen.

Jared’s still humming the tune under his breath when they get to the front door. There’s a few people there, having learned not to trust him and Cowboy to wake them up. “What’s it say?” He asks.

Ginger speaks up, “We got our first challenge today, they said to bring your swimsuit.” She’s not looking at him when she says it though, she’s looking at Cowboy. Who’s too busy chattering to pay attention.

“I’m gonna win it, Tex, these challenge things are a piece of cake,” Cowboy says.

Ginger slides past Jared and puts a perfectly manicured hand on his arm. “I bet you will.”

He grins, too excited to notice she’s not letting go of him. Anyone else would be put off by her apparent lack of personal space, but Cowboy isn’t bothered.

Jared glares at her, taking hold of Cowboy’s other arm and steering him towards the ladder. Ginger glares right back, whispering something to Spice. The other woman laughs under her breath, following them with her eyes. This isn’t going to be good, Jared thinks.

Minutes later they’re all gathered at the front entrance, getting equipped with new water-proof mics and watching the camera crew bustle around them. There’s bug-eye lenses staring at him from every angle, making the entryway seem frighteningly small. Jared takes a deep breath and concentrates on the warmth of Cowboy beside him.

Everyone’s starting to get restless when two limos drive up and the twins each step out. The whole crowd cheers as they walk towards them, stopping when Justin begins to speak. “So guys, you all know today’s your first challenge. And you’ve probably figured out it involves water.”

Justina cuts in, “All we’re going to say for now is split into three groups of four...” She says more, but whatever it is gets drowned out by everyone grabbing on to the closest person to them.

A nervous looking blonde man runs up to him and says, “You’re in our group.” Jared remember the man being called Yo-Yo, and from the twitchy look in his eyes Jared doesn’t want anything to do with him. He’s trying to think of a palpable excuse when Cowboy appears out of the crowd, Ginger and Spice in tow. He fixes the Yo-Yo with a look.

“C’mon Sasquatch, I found us two people.”

Yo-Yo, who’s about half Jared’s size and has a voice two octaves higher starts to protest. “Hey! We got him first.”

Cowboy laughs and starts walking in the other direction. “He’s not a shirt you saw in the mall dude.”

Jared snorts, running to catch up. He ignores the angry huff behind him.

They all pile into the waiting limos, which are cramped to say the least. Ginger has commandeered a spot on Cowboy’s lap and is wriggling around much more than is necessary. Jared wrinkles his nose and turns his attention to Spice. “So,” he starts, struggling for words.

She cuts him off, “You and Cowboy sure are close.”

Well they were skipping the small talk then. “Uh, yeah, I guess,” he replies awkwardly.

“Haven’t you only known each other for a couple of days?” she asks, eyes boring holes into him.

“Well he isn’t really the hardest person to get to know,” Jared says, gesturing at where Ginger is basically giving him a lap dance in front of them.  
She actually quirks a smile at that, but Jared has a feeling it’s sarcastic. “Well he’s got you following him around like a love-sick puppy hasn’t he?”

Jared laughs nervously before fully processing what she’s said. “Um what?”

Spice doesn’t have a chance to reply before they roll up to what looks like an abandoned water park. “Wait, where did that come from?” He says. But she’s already sliding out of the limo, Ginger and Cowboy close behind.

There’s no time to confront her when they get there. Justin and Justina are waiting in lifeguard chairs at the entry way. They’re in matching blue bathing suits, the sunlight shining off of Justina’s bleach blonde hair and tanned body. Jared can’t believe he’s lucky enough to even talk to her. She pulls out a loud-speaker. “Are you ready for your first challenge?”

The whole group buzzes with excitement. They can already see past the water parks gates to what looks like a huge obstacle course. Justin picks up his speaker. “Today you’re going to prove to us that you’d do anything for our love.”

The gates swing open when he stops talking, and he gestures inside. “Each team member has to complete the obstacle course. At the end you’ll collect one piece of a heart. The first team to put the heart together wins this challenge, as well as a sexy pool date with us later tonight.”

There’s loud cat calls at the mention of the pool date, but Jared’s too distracted by the obstacles to contribute.

To start off there’s a draw bridge that’s swinging precariously over the pool, huge gaps between each rung. If you manage to make it through that you’d have to jump onto one of three moving platforms to make it to the next obstacle, which is a rock climbing wall in a heart shape, each rock getting smaller as you go. The last obstacle is what looks like a giant teeter-totter leading to a long slide. At the end of the chute he can see four heart pieces glinting in the sunlight.

“Woah,” Cowboy says beside him. Jared gulps.

The camera crew ushers them towards the starting platform, getting each team situated on their starting block. The four of them quickly decide Spice will go first, then Cowboy, Ginger, and then Jared. “Slowest to fastest,” Cowboy explains. Ginger assures them that she’s a dancer and that this will be super easy for her, but Spice looks nervous. Before they know it, a blow horn sounds and she’s stepping unsteadily onto the rope bridge.

The other teams take a few steps onto the ropes and seem to figure it out, moving with ease across. Spice hasn’t moved from her first step, clinging to the sides desperately.

“It’s easy girl, you can do it!” Ginger encourages. Spice seems to pull herself together, taking another step. It looks alright at first, but as soon as she lets go of the rope she loses her footing and topples head-first into the water.

Cowboy groans, but luckily one of the other teams has also done a belly flop off the bridge. So at least they’re not in last. They watch as Spice manages to wipe out on every last one of the obstacles, making it to the end in a sopping mess of running mascara. Jared looks around and notices that one team already has their second person halfway across, but their last person looks pretty slow, so he doubts they’re a real threat.

When he looks back Cowboy’s already on the rock wall, still dry. He scales it easily, pausing for a breath before sprinting across the teeter-totter. He makes it safely to the platform and clicks another piece onto the heart before throwing it on the platform like he just scored a touchdown.

Jared shakes his head and turns his attention back to Ginger, who’s almost done the bridge already. She could get them a solid lead, but he still secretly wants her to wipe-out. She falters for a moment on the wall, losing her footing, but manages to hang on. Ginger makes the teeter-totter look easy, prancing across it and landing on the platform below.

Jared tries to tune out the noises of the other teams around him. Cameras circle the area constantly, getting every angle of each embarrassing wipe-out.

He takes a deep breath and steps onto the bridge. They’re way ahead now, all he has to do is not fall off. The bridge isn’t so bad once he gets used to it and before he knows it, he’s at the platforms. The rock wall is the easiest part; he’s so tall he basically crosses it in two steps, legs stretching across. He steels himself for the teeter-totter, and decides the faster he does it the better. Jared’s already halfway across when he dares to look up at the waiting platform.

Cowboy has his hands around Ginger’s waist and is swinging her round and round in the air. He’s laughing that big laugh that Jared privately thought was just for him and his skin gleams with every turn. Ginger’s just lapping up the attention, her long legs curving to wrap around him. Cowboy’s back is to him when she runs her fingers through his hair, planting a big kiss on his forehead and looking Jared straight in the eyes.

His steps falter for half a second, but that’s all it takes. Jared tries desperately to find his center of gravity, wobbling on one foot. He plants the other foot and woosh, the whole thing goes vertical and he’s falling towards the water.

Jared surfaces just in time to hear the excited whoops from the winning team, looking up to see Spice shooting him a death glare. Cowboy cannonballs in beside him, grinning ear to ear. “That was awesome!”

Jared looks at him like he’s crazy. “But we lost.”

Cowboy shrugs. “Yeah, but the face you made when you fell in was totally worth it.”

Jared flushes, trying to grab hold of Cowboy in the water. The other man wriggles out of his grip. “Let’s go, first one out gets to sleep on the Holy Grail!”

Jared spits some water out of his mouth and starts after him, trying to ignore the smug look from Ginger. Justina’s already talking when he gets out of the pool, “Yo-Yo, Kitty, Glitter and Angel are the winners of this challenge!”

Jared doesn’t listen to the fanfare that follows, clapping when Justin takes the heart from a girl in a sparkling bikini who Jared guesses is Glitter. They’re on the way back to the limo’s when Yo-Yo brushes past him. “Guess you picked the wrong team, Tex.” He practically spits out the last word before strutting away.

Cowboy raises an eyebrow, “They called him Yo-Yo cause he’s basically bipolar. Don’t worry, he’ll forget about it fast.”

For some reason Jared doubts it. It looks like he just can’t help piling up enemies here. Spice seems to already hate him and Ginger has a grudge against him too.

He broods all the way back to the mansion, staring out the window and wishing for a hot shower. If Cowboy notices, he’s far too busy talking to Ginger to say anything.


	4. Episode Three

Jared tries leaving their little group when they get back, but Cowboy manages to rope him into a drinking game with the two girls. Jared’s stuck with Spice while Cowboy and Ginger leave to go find shot glasses. “Hey, what did you mean before about me and Cowboy?” He asks, trying to keep his voice from betraying his emotions.

She smirks, managing to look superior even with make-up smudged across her face. “You pay way more attention to him then you do to the twins. Everyone’s noticed.”

Jared stutters, feeling his face heating up. “T-that’s not true.”

She raises one skinny eyebrow. “We’ll see.”

Cowboy comes charging back into the living room, Ginger nowhere to be seen. He grabs a fistful of Jared’s still sopping wet shirt, dragging him towards the photo booth’s. “Dude, what’s going on?” Jared says.

Cowboy stays silent, uncharacteristically serious as he closes the door behind them. He waits until they’re settled on the stool before starting to talk. “Ginger just tried to make out with me in the kitchen.”

Jared groans, dropping his forehead on Cowboy’s shoulder.

“I know! She was all like, you’ve been coming onto me all day and blah blah blah. I barely got away.”

Jared sighs. “You gotta tell the twins.”

Cowboy nods decisively, seeming to shrug it off when Jared starts talking about the challenge. He tries to mimic Jared’s epic fall into the pool, and ends up smacking him in the face. Cowboy whines about his black eye for a bit, and they end up stumbling out of the booth in a much better mood then when they went in. That is, until they spot Ginger talking to Justin in the corner.

“Oh shit.” Jared says. They must have missed the gong with all the noise Cowboy was making in the booth.

Cowboy doesn’t seem fazed. “Whatever. There’s no way he’ll believe that bimbo over me.”  
He strides over, stepping up to Justin’s side. The blonde man flinches slightly, shifting away from Cowboy when he tries to wrap his arm around him. Jared sees Justina out of the corner of his eye and goes to talk to her. “What’s going on?” He asks.

She rolls her eyes. “Ginger told Justin that Cowboy made a move on her. She’s such a drama queen.”

Jared’s pleasantly surprised. “Not sure if Justin sees in that way.”

She shrugs, leading him by the arm over to a couch. “He will.”

They end up talking for almost the rest of the night. It turns out Justina’s always wanted a dog, and Jared recommends a whole bunch of different kinds. He’s talking through the merits of a short-haired breed when she leans in a places a soft kiss on his lips.

“Enough about dogs,” she says, lips still brushing his. It’s supposed to be sexy, but Jared just ends up gets strawberry lip-gloss smeared onto his face. When she kisses him again, it’s a lot less soft, and Jared decides he doesn’t mind.

They’re full on making out when Justin taps on his twin’s shoulder, pointing towards the door. He looks close to tears, and Justina gives him a regretful look before taking her brother’s hand and leaving. The winners of the pool date are standing by the doors, but with the mood Justin’s in, he doubts it will be as fun as they expect.

Jared’s wiping pink gloss off his lips when Cowboy plops down beside him, face in his hands. “Fuck, looks like you had a better night then I did.”

Jared frowns, “What happened?”

“Ginger told Justin I was flirting with her all day. She said she told me to stop, but I kept trying to kiss her.” Cowboy runs a hand through his short hair. “Justin knows I wouldn’t do that, but he’s still mad about the flirting. Says it’s a violation of his trust.”

Cowboy’s looking at him like he’s supposed to back him up, but Jared just shifts uncomfortably on the couch, avoiding his eyes. “You could maybe tone that down a little.”

He expects Cowboy to be mad, but he just sort of looks dejected. “I was just trying to be nice.”

Jared stands up, “I know you were, but some people don’t really get that, dude.”

Cowboy follows, leaning against him. “That’s why you’re my favorite.”

Jared tries to laugh, and ends up just making a choked noise. “C’mon, let’s get you to bed.”

They make it up the ladder safely and Cowboy immediately strips down and wraps himself in a blanket on the Holy Grail, burrowing deep into the pillows. Cowboy raises his eyes when Jared turns to sit on the smaller bad. “Aren’t you coming?” He looks so inviting, all soft and warm on the bed and Jared just can’t say no.

Jared is pleasantly surprised to wake up on the bed and not the floor. The way Cowboy sleeps, it’s nothing short of a miracle. He feels a warm breath ghost over his chest, and slowly opens his eyes. Sure enough, Cowboy is draped over top of him, blanket and all. The other man somehow managed to maneuver under Jared’s arm in his sleep and now has his face pressed to his chest. Jared moves his hand over the still bruised part of Cowboy’s eye, palm brushing his long lashes. Cowboy sighs sleepily, lips parting and raising goosebumps across Jared’s skin.

He moves to shake him awake, but Cowboy just whines and shifts to bury his nose in Jared’s neck. All Jared ends up with a nose full of downy hair for his trouble. It smells like raspberries, the sweet, stain-your-lips kind. He falls back asleep like that. Five more minutes can’t hurt.

Jared jolts awake to the sound of the gong ringing. Cowboy’s up a moment later, rolling off of him and stumbling towards his suitcase. “Shit, shit, shit. Dude, I have to talk to Justin before eliminations.” Jared doesn’t get a word in before Cowboy’s down the ladder, still pulling his shirt over his head. He follows minutes later, just in time to see the twins disappear through the front door.

Before he knows it, a rush of camera-men are flooding the house, and the elimination room is set up in minutes. They’re like a hive of bees, stopping him with a make-up brush or hair gel every time he tries to talk to Cowboy. If the other man didn’t talk to Justin, there’s a serious chance he’s going home tonight. Jared’s stomach drops at the thought of never even saying goodbye.

The contestants take their places on the stairs and there’s a whispered “Three, two...” before the cameras start rolling and the twins step up to their podiums, looking solemn. They repeat their “for two of you your double chance at love has ended” speech and move on with the elimination.

It passes in a blur. He walks up when Justina calls his name, barely paying attention when she tells him how much fun she had last night. He has to watch as one by one the housemates get a necklace, until there’s just three left standing. Cowboy, Ginger and Blondie.

“Cowboy, we have a real connection, and I love having fun with you. But I need you to stop with the playboy, flirty behavior,” Justin says. Cowboy’s chewing on his lip, eyes wide and nodding along with Justin’s words. “But I want to believe you can commit, so I’m going to give you another chance at love.”

He sees the tension drain out of Cowboy’s body, matching the rush of relief that hits him. When Justin drops the necklace over his head Cowboy catches his wrist. “I’m in this for you, no one else.” Cowboy says, brushing a kiss over Justin’s hand. The blonde man blushes furiously, struggling to compose himself as Cowboy takes his place at Jared’s side.

“That was a close one.” Cowboy whispers, glaring daggers at Ginger. Justin’s telling her that she’s just not the kind of person he sees himself with, Justina basically giving Blondie the same treatment. Jared misses most of the speeches. He could care less about the bitch.

The twins leave shortly after the elimination, instructing them to get a good night’s sleep, because another challenge is coming bright and early tomorrow. Jared wants to talk to Cowboy in private, but the other man gestures towards the confession booth instead, which is as private as they’re going to get.

After situating themselves on the stool, Cowboy takes a deep breath. “Spice came up to me after elimination. She said she’d make us pay for what I did to Ginger.”

Jared manages a weak laugh, “I knew she was no good, man.”

Cowboy shrugs, jostling Jared’s head where it rests on his shoulder. “Yeah well, that’s the last time I try to make friends.” Jared silently agrees. He could care less about the others. From what he’s seen none of them are worth getting to know.

“Guess it’s you and me against the world, Tex.” Cowboy says, leaning back into Jared like he’s already exhausted.

They leave the booth soon after, neither of them in the mood to talk. With no television or cell phones in the house, often there’s not much to do. Even air hockey loses its appeal after a hundred games. Eventually they migrate to the kitchen, doing dishes to the sound of pop songs on the radio. Cowboy’s drying broodily, brow scrunched in concentration. “I’m not a playboy,” he blurts out, the words loud in the silence of the kitchen.

Jared doesn’t take his eyes off the soapy water, “I know.”

“I just wanted them to like me.” Jared looks up at that, but Cowboy won’t meet his eyes, focused on the plate in his hands. His face is colored lightly, looking sunburnt in the light. Jared thinks it’s the first time he’s seen him embarrassed.

“Hey,” he says, pulling the plate out of Cowboy’s hands. “Those people are fake okay? They don’t matter.” Jared steps closer, palming the back of Cowboy’s neck with a soapy hand. His heart jumps when Cowboy meets his eyes. “You and me against the world, yeah?”

Cowboy’s eyes dart between his, mouth tilting up in a smile when Jared doesn’t look away. “Yeah,” he says, voice hoarse.

They jump apart when someone clears their throat behind Jared. Cowboy scratches the back of his neck guiltily, fiddling with the radio dials.

“Oh, hey Spice,” Jared manages, hands back in the sink. She squints, eyeliner turning her eyes into two black slits.

Jared expects her to leave, but she sits down at the island instead. They endure two minutes of awkward silence before Cowboy reaches over and turns the radio up to full volume. “I love this song!”

She saunters out with an eye roll and a loaded look in their direction. Cowboy laughs, doing some messed up version of the robot and once again ignoring the pile of dishes he has left to dry.

“I liked you better when you were all mopey,” Jared says, shaking his head.

They both know he’s lying. Cowboy flashes one of the big grins that went missing this morning and the dishes don’t get finished for another hour.

 

The rest of the day consists of working out (For Jared. Cowboy spends the whole time trying to climb up the water slide.), planning a prank on the rest of the house (no locks on the doors, they’re basically asking for it) and playing games in the arcade (they both suck at DDR). Over all it’s a pretty productive day.

They’re ready for bed by nine, Cowboy spinning lazily on the Holy Grail and Jared watching a fight getting started in the living room. “This is getting intense, I think someone’s gonna pull out a weave,” he says, wincing at a roar from below them.

Cowboy laughs, “I’d bet on the short one, chicks got bigger arms then I do.”

There’s a ring forming around the two of them, but security’s already pushing through and Jared rapidly loses interest. He looks at Cowboy instead, who has his blanket covering everything except the top half of his face and has almost disappeared into the pink cushions.

Jared feels a rush of affection and curls up beside him, playing with the frayed edge of the blanket. It’s faded blue, with white patches dotting it like clouds, worn soft and smelling sweet. “Should have thought to bring a blanket. All of the ones here smell like plastic.”

Cowboy lifts up the end, rolling closer to Jared and tucking it in behind him. “There, we can share.” Jared smiles, and Cowboy pokes a finger into on of his dimples, humming tunelessly under his breath. “My Mama made it for me, long time ago. Used to be a lot bluer.”

Jared clears his throat, trying to ignore the stirring in his stomach. Pressed up together, hidden away under the blanket, it’s easy to forget where they are. Sooner or later he’s going to have to leave Neverland and whatever they’re doing now is going to come back to bite him in the ass. “Here I thought you were some tough guy.”

He can tell Cowboy’s almost asleep, his hand is still on Jared’s face though, waiting for him to smile. “I am.”

“Nuh-uh. You have a blankie.”

“So?” Cowboy says it like an after thought. Jared closes his eyes.

“Smells like raspberries.” Jared mumbles. The words are pushed together by the fingers tickling the swell of his lips.

Cowboy hums, and Jared opens his eyes. The other man’s eyes are drooping shut. He’s fighting it but every time he blinks his eyes open slower and slower.

“Sometimes you do too.”

Cowboy fists a hand in his shirt, like Jared might disappear once his eyes close.

“If you got sent home, I woulda gone with you,” he says. But Cowboy’s already asleep.


	5. Episode Four

Jared wakes up with Cowboy settled on his chest. The blanket must have been kicked off in the night, settling around their hips. Jared runs his hand over the twin divots on Cowboy’s lower back, fighting to stay awake. He turns his head lazily to look at the clock on the wall. It’s already eight. Jared jostles Cowboy’s head regretfully, “Man, we slept in.”

Cowboy smacks his lips, nose scrunching. “Two more minutes.”

Jared actually considers it. A couple more minutes couldn’t hurt right? But then he remembers what happened last time they slept in and keeps shaking the other man.

“Jared,” Cowboy groans, blinking blearily up at him.

“No, we’re almost an hour late. You must be rubbing off on me.”

Cowboy smiles. “Can we have bacon?”

Jared rolls out of bed, stretching till his back pops. He can feel Cowboy’s eyes on him. “If you’re good,” he says.

Cowboy follows him into the kitchen, slumping onto the island. “What do you think the challenge will be?”

Jared shrugs. “I dunno. Could be anything.”

“Just hope it’s not a obstacle course, eh Sasquatch?”

“Shut up, or no bacon.”

They eat in comfortable silence and are ready at the door when the twins arrive. Cowboy gives Justin a huge hug, kissing him on the temple. Jared tries to turn his attention to Justina, but he can’t quite manage it with Cowboy looking at Justin like that.

Before long, they’re piling into the limos again, squished into a corner. Everyone else is talking amongst themselves, but Cowboy just takes a nap on Jared’s shoulder. He must have been serious about not making friends with anyone else. Jared ignores the pointed look from Spice and stares out the window.

Jared lets the chatter from everyone else fade into background noise, watching the road pass by out the window. They pull up to a large field before long, the limo groaning to a stop. Jared gently fixes Cowboy’s hat where it’s fallen over his eyes, “Hey man, we’re here.”

Cowboy glances out the window, grinning when he spots the giant maze. “I’m gonna win this one,” he says.

Jared pushes him towards the door, “Sure you are.”

They jostle each other towards the podium, stopping with the twins walk out of the maze. “House guests! Everyone knows a good relationship is about communication, today we’re going to test those skills.” A couple of the men groan. Cowboy shoots him a glance, eyebrow raised.

“You’re going to be navigating the maze,” Justin says, pulling a black scrap of fabric from behind his back. “Blindfolded.”

There’s a few dramatic gasps, and Jared strains to hear the rest of their instructions. “You’ll need to get into partners. But choose wisely because one of you will be giving directions from outside.”

Jared looks around and notices a set of bleachers by the end of the maze. They must be able to see the whole thing from it. Cowboy clears his throat, “You’re probably better at giving directions.”

Jared laughs. “Probably.”

“The pair that makes it to the end of the maze first gets a double date with Justin and I!” Justina announces, clapping her hands together. There’s a loud cheer. A double date is a lot better than going out in the group. Jared’s willing to bet whoever goes won’t be sent home in the next elimination.

The camera crew hands out the blindfolds and fits each person with an earpiece and microphone so they can talk inside the maze. Jared ties the back of Cowboy’s blindfold, smoothing it over his eyes. Cowboy wrinkles his nose. “Can’t see a damn thing.”

“I think that’s kinda the point.”

Cowboy tries to punch his shoulder and misses. He’s biting at his lips nervously and it looks really hot with his eyes covered. Jared thinks maybe Cowboy’s one of those guys that likes being tied up, bondage and all that. Jared’s never been too keen on it, but fuck would Cowboy look amazing begging for it.

He imagines Justina in all leather instead, pretends that’s what’s got him all bothered. It doesn’t really work.

They’re led over to the bleachers, where Jared pushes his way to the very top to get the best view. He can see Cowboy easily, fidgeting at the start of the maze. “Ten-two rubber ducky over.” He says into his mouth piece.

Cowboy gives him the thumbs up from down below. “Copy that, Sasquatch.”

The twins stand up from their spots at the finish and shout out, “On your marks, get set, go!”

Everyone looks like lab rats from up high, pushing their way into the maze, hitting walls and shoving each other randomly. He can barely hear over the shouting coming from everyone on the bleachers. “You might want to wait just a second so you don’t flatten Yo-Yo,” Jared says.

Jared waits until the correct path is clear ahead of Cowboy. A lot of the others took paths that end in dead ends, something Jared noted before the game even started. Their partners are screaming at them to turn around and it’s only serving to confuse them more. “Take five big steps forward till you can touch the wall.” Jared instructs.  
Cowboy walks like a zombie, stopping abruptly when his fingers brush it. “Kay.”

“One little step to the right, not too far or you’ll end up heading towards a dead end.”

Cowboy feels along the wall, stopping when he touches the hallway. “Here?”

“Yup, take three big steps down there.” Jared can see only one person ahead of them, moving confidently towards what Jared hopes is the wrong path. He takes a breath and tries not to rush Cowboy.

They continue on for what seems like forever, their only setback being when Cowboy turns too fast and runs headfirst into a corner. They move pretty slowly after that, but everyone else is so far behind they can afford to.

Finally Cowboy steps into the home stretch. “Five big steps and you’re done dude,” Jared says.

Cowboy whoops, running full speed towards the end. He almost plows over Justin, who rips off his blindfold and kisses him full on the lips. Jared ambles down from the bleachers. He smiles at Justina when he gets there, leaning down to kiss her too. “That looked too easy,” she says.

Jared winks at her. “Piece of cake.”

They wave goodbye to the twins from the limo, “We’ll pick you two up later for dinner!” Justina shouts from a rolled down window. Justin blows kisses to Cowboy from the other one until they fade down the road. It’s hard to hide his excitement, but with the rest of the contestants glaring daggers at him, Jared tries his best. Most are sporting bruises from hitting walls in the maze, and the rest are nursing wounded prides. Cowboy has a mottled purple patch forming on his cheekbone, just below the now fading black eye from Butch. Jared’s starting to wonder if he’s going to make it a week without an injury.

Cowboy babbles the whole way back, ignoring the looks he’s getting from the group. “Man we killed that! Easiest challenge ever. If that’s all you need to have a good relationship maybe we should date.”

“You ran face first into a wall.”

Cowboy tugs on his hair. “But you got me to the end, didn’t ya, Tex?”

Jared rolls his eyes, fighting the urge to smile like a lunatic.

The excitement dies down when they return to the mansion and find out they have a few hours to kill before the double date. Jared drags a protesting Cowboy to the kitchen for more dishes. It’s been a few days and the stink of food left to sit is starting to reach their room.

“I don’t see why someone else can’t do this.” Cowboy pouts.

“‘Cause we’ve already done it twice. It’s our thing now.”

“Our thing?”

Jared nods, emptying the rest of the dish soap into the sink. Cowboy’s squinting at him. “You’re weird.”

Jared reaches up to turn the radio on, switching it to the channel Cowboy likes. “You love it.”

“This song’s the bomb.” He whips him with the dish towel before turning the radio up louder.

Jared shakes his head, turning back to the plate in his hand, but it’s really hard to ignore Cowboy when he’s dancing. “Where have you been, all my life...” he yells, arms flailing.

“San Antonio,” Jared says.

Cowboy scoffs, actually drying a few dishes before the next Rihanna song comes on. He seems to have a thing for Rihanna. “Yellow diamonds in the light,” he sings.

Jared grins. It’s actually a pretty good song. He bumps his hip against Cowboy’s, “Now we’re standing, side, by, side.”

Cowboy drops the dish towel, “As your shadow crosses mine.”

Jared meets his eyes, the dishes are almost done anyways. “What it takes to, come alive.”

Cowboy laughs, starting up a fist pump as the tempo builds. “It’s the way I’m feelin’ I just can’t deny.”

Jared bobs his head to the beat. “But I gotta let it go.”

Cowboy grabs his hand, spinning them in circles around the kitchen. They miss the next lines, turning with the rhythm of the bass drop.

Cowboy lets out a gasping breath when they stop. “Shine a light through an open door.”

Jared mumbles, “Something life I will define?”

“Dude, how can you not know the words?!”

“Shut up, the good part’s coming up.”

Cowboy imitates a pulse through his shirt, “Feel the heartbeat in my mind.”

“That’s totally not the lyric.” Jared says. Cowboy shushes him.  
They sort of give up on singing after that, Jared clapping along and Cowboy back to fist pumping. They spin until they’re dizzy and end up bumping into the counter, sending cutlery clattering onto the floor.

Cowboy laughs until his face is red, pushed up tight to he counter. Jared leans against him, face pressed to his shoulder. He pulls back just as the song ends. “In a hopeless place,” Cowboy sings under his breath.

They just stare at each other for a moment, smiling widely. Jared probably would have stayed like that a lot longer, but that sappy Jason Mraz song comes on and it’s suddenly really awkward. He clears his throat, taking a step back from Cowboy and rubbing the back of his neck.

“You’re the worst dancer ever.” Cowboy says, effectively breaking the silence.

Jared fights down the blush on his cheeks. “Whatever dude. Let’s finish the dishes.”

Their dinner date turns out to be at a carnival, and they have it all to themselves. Cowboy lights up brighter than the ferris wheel. “Dude, no lines!”

They all get hot dogs for dinner, except Cowboy, who eats his weight in cotton candy instead. When Justin and Cowboy disappear into the Haunted House, Jared takes Justina’s hand and leads her to a nearby game.

“Want me to win you a teddy bear?” He says.

She looks him up and down. “I’d rather sleep with you.”

He flushes, pushing his bangs out of his face. Justina looks amazing, she’s wearing this tight jean skirt and a tube top that grip her curves just right. Her blonde curls tumble over her shoulders and she bats heavily mascaraed eyelashes at him, biting her bottom lip.

 

He pulls her close and leans down to kiss her, tasting nothing but the artificial tang of her lips. She doesn’t fit right in his arms, too tiny to even reach him unless he’s half bent over. She rubs up against him anyways, and Jared almost guilty when he halfheartedly shifts closer. He’s relieved when he hears Justin and Cowboy coming up behind them.

Cowboy’s got one hand linked with Justin’s and the other holding yet another bag of cotton candy. He gives Jared a smirk before pointing at the roller coaster, the only ride he hasn’t been on yet. “Last one!” He says.

Justin rubs his stomach, normally tan face pale. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Cowboy immediately turns his attention back to him, rubbing small circles on his back. “It’s okay, take deep breaths. Roller coasters are lame anyways.”

Jared’s heart twinges, Cowboy would make an awesome boyfriend. Everyone knows roller coasters are awesome.

He turns back to Justina. “Want to try it out?”

Justina shakes her head. “Nah, I’d probably puke. You guys should though, someone might as well.”

Justin nods, looking a little less queasy, but Cowboy doesn’t let go of his hand. “You sure? It’s just a ride.”

Justin rolls his eyes, pushing him away. “Go, you’ve been wanting to try it all night.”

Cowboy kisses him on the cheek and tugs Jared towards the waiting cars. Jared throws Justina a look over his shoulder and she waves him off, already talking to her brother.

“I’ve never sat at the very front of a roller coaster before,” Cowboy says, buckling himself in.  
Jared’s a little nervous. He hasn’t either. And he had like ten hot dogs. “Are you sure about this? It goes all the way upside down.”

“C’mon Tex, live a little,” Cowboy says, securing his seat for him.

Jared tenses when the ride starts moving, chugging forward on the track. He grabs onto Cowboy’s hand instinctively, taking deep breaths through his nose. Cowboy clutches him right back, looking with wide eyes down the huge drop.

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” Cowboy says. But then they’re plummeting, wind stealing his words as they fall. Jared starts off screaming, but by the time they start climbing towards the loop, he’s laughing.

“Put your hands up!” He urges Cowboy, who’s gone as white as a sheet. He shakes his head, holding tight to his death grip on Jared’s hand. Jared brushes his thumb over Cowboy’s wrist. “Hey, look at me.”

Cowboy’s eyes are as big as saucers, he looks like he’s about to faint. “Just don’t let go of my hand,” Jared says. And then they’re moving again, heading towards the loop. Cowboy gasps when the ride halts at the very top and they’re hanging upside down, Justin and Justina just dots below them.

Cowboy raises the hand not connected to Jared and reaches towards the ground, wriggling his fingers in the empty air.

The ride finishes soon after and their seats pull up with a whoosh, the restraints sliding upwards so Jared can breathe again. “You okay?” He asks.

Cowboy looks shell-shocked, his hair sticking up at crazy angles. There’s half moon marks on Jared’s hand where his hand still sits. Cowboy looks up at him, manic smile on his face. “One more time?”

Jared laughs. “But you didn’t like it!”

Cowboy ignores him, pulling the buckle back down for the both of them. The ride starts up again with a creak, moving steadily towards the first drop. Cowboy relaxes, face tilted towards the sky. “It wasn’t so bad.”


	6. Episode Five

They return to the mansion with a giant stuffed monkey for Jared and another bag of cotton candy for Cowboy. He gets a short kiss from Justina at he door before the other house guests bombard the twins. She gives him a soft smile before letting how of his hand and turning her attention to everyone else. Jared heads toward the ladder, ignoring the fact that Justin’s still making out with Cowboy in the entry way.

The other man joins him minutes later, saying with a sigh, “Dude, those guys are like vultures.” Jared hums in agreement, letting himself sink into the Holy Grail. Cowboy stretches out beside him, but both have too much adrenaline to go to bed yet. Bored, they head towards the confession booth. Cowboy wants to bring in the monkey, but there’s barely enough room as it is. They share the cotton candy while Cowboy summarizes the day.

“Best. Day. Ever,” he says. Jared nods his agreement. “We had bacon for breakfast. Won the challenge.”

Jared steps in. “I got to show off my killer dance moves.”

Cowboy snorts. “Went to a carnival.”

“Made out with the twins,” Jared says, words hardy recognizable with all the cotton candy in his mouth.

Cowboy perks up. “Yeah, making out with the twins was totally awesome too. Every day should be like this.”

“Is my tongue purple?” Jared asks, sticking it out.  
Cowboy nods. “Is mine?” Jared nods, chuckling.

“So is the rest of your face.” He picks a piece of candy from the corner of Cowboy’s mouth and pops it into his, letting the sugar dissolve on his tongue.

Cowboy tracks the movement with his eyes, licking his lips. He shifts on Jared’s lap, suddenly restless. “Let’s go to bed.”

 

Jared insists on taking a shower, because he smells like hot dogs and sweat. But Cowboy goes straight to the Holy Grail, already half asleep. He washes off under cold water, willing the sudden heat in his belly to subside. There’s not enough privacy here to jerk off, but fuck, he would if he could. Justina’s really hot and she seems to like to constantly rub up against him. The only problem is it’s not Justina he thinks about as he stands under the icy spray. He’s thinking about Cowboy’s bare back when he wakes up in the morning, the curve of his ass almost visible under the blankets. Jared thinks about how it would feel to climb over him, kiss the jagged scar peeking over his shoulder and the freckles peppered on his back. Jared shakes head, turning off shower and swearing under his breath. He needs to keep his head in the game. It’s not Cowboy that he’s here for.

Jared returns to find his position on the bed taken by the giant monkey. Cowboy’s got an arm and a leg slung over it, his head cushioned on it’s plushy stomach.

“Dude, as if you’d replaced me with a stuffed animal.”

Cowboy cracks an eye open. “I named him DK. He’s soft and he never wakes me up at unreasonable times in the morning to do dishes.”

“Hmm. Guess I’ll have to sleep over there then.”

Cowboy frowns and pushes DK off, opening the covers. “On second though he sorta smelled like hot dogs.”

Jared crawls into the cocoon Cowboy’s managed to make out of blankets. He rubs his cold feet against the other man’s calves before settling himself on his back. Cowboy hisses, burrowing himself against Jared’s arm. “Where did you shower, Antarctica?”

Jared looks away. “I was trying to, you know. Cool off or whatever.”

Cowboy nods, his stubble bristling against Jared’s neck. “You all worked up, Tex?”

Jared shivers, suddenly wishing he had slept on the other bed after all. Cowboy flips the blue blanket over their heads, faces only inches apart. “Don’t worry, me too,” he whispers.

Cowboy glances at his eyes, obviously seeing some sort of confirmation there because the next second he’s covering Jared’s lips with his own.

Jared’s expecting roughness, already shifting his hand to tug Cowboy closer to him, but their lips barely brush. His eyes flutter open in surprise and he sees Cowboy staring back it him, green eyes flashing in the light.

The moment seems to last forever, every second accompanied by the thump-thump of Jared’s heart. He tries to catalogue every sensation, the slight give of Cowboy’s lips, the perfect curve of him against his body. Cowboy’s still staring at him, searchingly, like he’s giving Jared some kind of test. He pulls away just far enough to rub their noses together, humming contentedly to himself, like he does after his morning coffee.

“Night, Jared.”

Cowboy pulls the blanket back down and throws an arm over his waist, snuffling into Jared’s t-shirt.

Jared tries to keep his breathing down, even though he feels like he just ran a race. “Night.”

He can just make out the glint of the cameras, pointed accusingly at the bed, and it’s a long time before he falls asleep.

 

Jared knows something’s wrong the moment he wakes up. First off Cowboy’s not in bed, but the space beside him is still warm, so he must have left just minutes ago. The second thing he notices is yelling from the living room, loud enough to wake up the whole house. He makes out Cowboy’s voice and immediately scales down the ladder.

Everyone in the house is gathered around Spice and Cowboy in the centre of the room. Cowboy’s just wearing his boxer shorts, hair disheveled from sleep. Whatever they’re fighting about must be what woke him up.

Jared pushes his way to the middle of the circle, “What the fuck’s going on?”

Cowboy bristles. “This bitch is convinced we’re fucking and decided to sneak into our room to try and prove it.”

Spice holds up a digital camera. “It wasn’t hard, I’ve got evidence of you two snuggled up right here. There’s no way the twins will keep you around after this.”

Cowboy lunges for the camera, but Jared pulls him back. “Hey! So what, we share the bed. Doesn’t mean anything.”

There’s a laugh from somewhere in the group, “It’s not just that. You two do everything together. We’ve known you weren’t here for the right reasons for a long time.”

Cowboy pushes into the crowd, coming face to face with Yo-Yo. “That’s not fucking true and you know it.”

Someone else speaks up, “Oh yeah? What are our names?”

He sees Cowboy glancing around, confidence draining fast. “Um. Well you’re Yo-Yo. And that’s Kitty. And you, you’re Blondie or something.”

“Blondie went home last week,” the girl says.

“Pickle?” Jared tries.

She shakes her head. “That’s Pickle, I’m Boots.”

Spice speaks up again. “You don’t even bother to learn our names. All you care about is each other. We’re all tired of it.”  
“That’s because when Cowboy tried being nice, your friend Ginger tried to get him eliminated! What do you expect?” Kitty pipes up, standing beside Jared.

Spice shrugs, “It doesn’t matter. As soon as I show this to the twins you’ll both be gone.”

She turns on her heel, strutting back down the hallway. Everyone slinks back to their rooms after that, shooting him dirty looks as they go. Kitty stays beside him, wearing a fluffy robe and glaring right back. “Thanks for saying that,” Jared says, smiling wearily at her.

“Hey no problem, I totally understand not wanting to socialize after what happened with Ginger. Just don’t forget that not all of us are like that alright?”  
She gives Cowboy a pat on the back and starts walking towards her room. “And maybe sleeping together wasn’t such a great idea,” She says over her shoulder.

Jared nods, feeling sick to his stomach. Whatever is on that camera probably won’t look good to the twins.

He sighs, “Might as well get back to bed. It’s like five in the morning.”

Cowboy follows him up the ladder, but Jared can tell he’s too wired to go back to sleep. The other man paces the room as he tells him what happened.

“I woke up cause I saw the flash of the camera. I open my eyes and Spice is standing by the bed, big fucking grin on her face. She was talking about ‘exposing us’ and all that before you showed up.”

“That’s crazy. That she’d sneak in here and do that.”

“I know, right? What a fucking psycho.” Cowboy says, laying down on the Holy Grail. “We just gotta convince the twins we’re not hooking up on the side.”

Jared lays back down beside him, no point changing now. “Should be pretty easy.”

Cowboy shrugs, rubbing at his eyes. “Depends how good the picture Spice got is.”

Jared realizes he’s right. With the way Cowboy sleeps and the fact he’s not wearing a shirt it would be pretty easy to jump to conclusions. Jared tugs the covers back up. “There’s no point freaking out now. We can’t change anything till tomorrow. So just go back to sleep, yeah?”

Cowboy pulls his blanket all the way up to his ears and wriggles away from him. “Yeah I guess.”

 

The next morning is awkward to say the least. Everyone but Kitty is shunning them and even Cowboy seems tense. He flinches away every time Jared gets close to him, and it’s starting to get on his nerves.

“I’m going to the weight room,” he says, leaving before Cowboy can answer. Predictably the other man follows moments later and Jared feels a little guilty. It’s not like he was going to stay in the living room with everyone glaring at him.

Cowboy lays down on the treadmill, watching him silently.

“You know you could use one of those. Haven’t seen you work out since we got here,” Jared jokes.

“I don’t like running when I’m not going anywhere,” Cowboy says quietly.

Jared puts down the weight, turning to face him. “Dude, what’s up with you today?”

Cowboy squares his shoulders, looking like himself for the first time all day. “I think maybe we should give each other some space.”

Jared smirks. “Are you breaking up with me?”  
“I’m not joking, Tex. We could get sent home.”

Jared stands up towering over him on the treadmill. “So one person thinks that we’re fucking and now you want space. It’s not true! We know it’s not!”  
Cowboy stands up, pushing him back a step. “But they think it is, Justin might think it is!”

“Who cares what they think! If Justin knows you at all, he knows you wouldn’t do that.”

Cowboy shakes his head, sitting back down on the treadmill. “Bottom line is, I came here for love, not to make friends. I’m not getting eliminated for this, Jared.”

Jared’s mouth snaps shut, waiting for Cowboy to start laughing, to say this whole thing’s one big practical joke. He doesn’t.

“If that’s what you want then, whatever. If you’re still around after eliminations be out of the room by tonight.” Jared storms out, tossing a weight angrily across the room. It crashes into a nearby mirror, sending it shattering to the ground.

Cowboy doesn’t make a move to stop him as Jared slams the door. Everyone in the front room jumps as he stalks towards the ladder, ignoring the eyes following him as he climbs up. By the time he’s at the top the anger is already starting to seep out of him. He can hear the sound of glass hitting the ground still, accompanied by the deadness in Cowboy’s eyes.

Jared curls up on the bed, burying his face in a pillow and fighting the urge to scream. Cowboy’s blanket is right beside his face and Jared only hesitates for a second before wrapping himself up in it.

It feels exactly like a bad break-up, which is fucking ridiculous. They barely know each other and he’s supposed to be chasing after Justina. Jared takes a deep breath, letting the berry scent calm him down. He pretends that Cowboy’s there with him, warm and sleep-soft, like he was last night. Before everything went to shit.

He falls asleep like that, and when he wakes up the blanket’s gone, and so is everything else of Cowboy’s.

When Jared hears the gong sound, he sits up so fast dots dance in front of his eyes. He doesn’t have time to mope, he’s got to convince Justina to let him stay.

He’s too late down the ladder, there’s already a full scale argument in progress in the living room. Justin has the digital camera in his hand and Cowboy beside him on the couch. Justina’s peeking over her brother’s shoulder eyebrow raised in question. Jared forces himself not to look at Cowboy. “It’s not what it looks like,” he says, raising his hands.

Justina laughs, “It looks like a big black blob. What are we supposed to be looking at Spice?”

Jared’s pretty sure he’s the only one that sees the tension drain out of Cowboy. He has the insane urge to laugh. All this fuss and the bitch didn’t even get a good picture. Cowboy’s already up from the couch, pulling Justin by the arm. “Forget her, have you seen our room yet? Totally awesome.”

Justin throws tosses the camera to Justina and quickly follows, he can hear Cowboy talking until the pair of them disappear up the ladder. Jared walks over to Justina, trying to think of an explanation for all the drama. “So what exactly is Spice saying you did?” She asks.

Jared exhales, “She thinks me and Cowboy are hooking up. She snuck into our room last night and took pictures of us sleeping.”  
Justina’s perfectly plucked eyebrows almost hit her hairline. “She did what? That’s such a breach of your privacy.”

Jared shrugs. “Well it’s not like she got much.”

“Why would she have gotten anything?”

“No, no, no,” Jared backtracks. “We just sleep on that big bed cause we’re both pretty tall guys and the other beds don’t exactly fit us.”

Justina’s silent for a moment before she breaks into laughter. “That’s hilarious. I could see how you’d have some trouble sleeping on those little things.”

Jared’s so relieved he actually picks her up and hugs her. “You’re pretty awesome you know that?” He says.

Justina wriggles her legs in the air. “I know, I know. Now put me down!”

He kisses her once on the end of the nose and lets the rest of the housemates have a turn. Spice is floating at the edge of the group, clutching the camera and rapidly pressing buttons. He’s not too worried about her saying anything else. Justina seems to trust him.

Jared wanders into the kitchen and sits at the island, scrubbing a hand through his hair. He starts when Kitty comes up behind him. “Woah, someones a little jumpy,” she comments.

“Sorry, long day.”

She takes a seat beside him, crinkling her brow. “Yeah, Cowboy asked if he could take Blondie’s old bed in our room.”

Jared snorts before he can stop himself, “Sorry, I just. I’m just done.”

Kitty gives him a long look before getting off her chair. “Don’t worry about it, things will work themselves out.”

“Thanks Kitty,” he says. But he’s not so sure she’s right.

Elimination passes quickly. Cowboy’s name is one of the first called, and Justina calls his right after. They stand on separate ends of the room once getting their keys and watch in silence as Spice and someone Jared can’t put a name to get sent home. Spice throws a pretty impressive hissy fit, but Jared can’t find it in him to care.

And then there were eight, he thinks. He’s dead on his feet by the time the twins leave and goes up to bed early.

Jared lays alone on the Holy Grail and pulls the stiff blanket over his head. He stares at Cowboy’s bunk, it doesn’t look that different than it did before, considering he never slept on it. He thinks back to the first week, when elimination was the only thing he was thinking about. He worried all day that he was getting sent home, listened to every detail of the twins’ speeches. It all seems fake now. After the scare with Cowboy, it all seems plastic.

Jared sits up suddenly, flinging a pillow at the wall. He should know everyone’s name, he should care that he doesn’t. Back home everyone thinks he’s a nice guy, and he is. Listens to his Mama, treats everyone right. Here, he’s some sort of villain and the messed up thing is that he doesn’t care. He had Cowboy and that was enough. But now Cowboy’s gone. And everything seems a hundred times more fucked up than it did yesterday.

Jared sits in bed and stares at the ceiling, trying to ignore the blaring light of the alarm clock. He counts down the hours, six hours of sleep until the next challenge. Five hours, four and a half... He’s at four when he hears bare feet padding across the linoleum. The kitchen light flicks on and he can tell it’s Cowboy by the shush of his blanket dragging on the floor behind him.

The fridge door opens and closes with a click. Jared figures he’s not getting any sleep tonight anyway and walks into the room, trying to look like he just woke up.

Cowboy’s staring at the dishes in the sink. He doesn’t look up when Jared comes in. “Who’s going to do the dishes if we’re fighting?”

“Someone else.”

Cowboy takes a sip of water, but his voice is still hoarse. “But it’s our thing.”

“I thought there wasn’t an ‘us’ anymore.”

Cowboy slams the cup onto the counter, water sloshing onto his hand. “I was wrong okay? I shouldn’t have said that stuff.”

Jared laughs weakly. “You’re only saying that because Spice didn’t have anything.”

Cowboy whirls on him, blanket dropping to the floor. “No! All day I’ve been so messed up. I went in the confession booth and just stared at the camera. I’ve been downstairs trying to sleep for fucking hours and all I can think about is how these dishes will never get done. And that you have the whole Holy Grail to yourself when there’s still room for me in it.”

Cowboy takes a deep breath, face screwed up like he can’t stand to open his eyes. “There is still room for me in it, right?”

Fuck it, Jared thinks, and pulls the blanket up off the floor. He wraps it tight around Cowboy’s shoulders, holding him there. “Yeah, there’s still room.”


	7. Episode Six

Everyone’s up early the next morning waiting for the challenge. They trudge downstairs half asleep from the long night but Jared’s too happy they made up to feel fatigued. Kitty gives him a knowing look, but Cowboy’s still too sleepy to notice. Jared nudges him with his shoulder. “Wake up! We got a challenge to win.”

Cowboy grumbles, “I’m still sore from the last one.”

“Don’t be a baby,” Jared says. But he holds a bag of peas to his face for him anyways. They wait for the gong to sound, but surprisingly Justin and Justina come in person, instead of sending their usual note. Everyone gathers around, tension crackling in the air.

“Tomorrow we’re doing something a little different during elimination, so keep that in mind during this challenge. Any one of you could be on the line.”

Justin picks up where Justina left off, “If you make it through this week you’ll be in our top five, and things will start to get a little different around here.”

People start to murmur before they’re shushed by the camera crew. There’s eight of them. That means three are going home instead of two.  
“With that being said, today’s challenge is going to be a little different too,” Justina says, playful smirk on her face.

“The last few challenges have been all about the physical, this one is all about the mental. Are you guys ready?”

There’s cheers from the crowd, but everyone looks apprehensive. No one knows what’s coming next. They’re herded out to the poolside, where eight stools are set up in front of a large red curtain. Everyone takes a seat and waits for Justin and Justina to explain things. “For the first time in Chance at Love history we’re opening up the floor to America!” Justina says.

“The viewers see what’s going on in the house, we don’t. So who better then the public to decide who goes home?”

Jared sends Cowboy a worried look, but the other man seems distracted, gnawing on his thumb. Jared misses whatever Justin says next watching him.

“The person with the lowest votes will go home, as well as two Justina and I will eliminate. You have two minutes to prepare yourselves before the competition!”

Jared starts to panic, realizing he missed the whole premise of the challenge. “What’s going on?”

“We each get thirty seconds in front of the camera to beg for votes. Then there’s a question round from the twins. Weren’t you listening?”

Jared shakes his head.

Cowboy rolls his eyes, “Well you only have two minutes, what’re you going to say?”

“I dunno, you?”

Cowboy pulls him closer, almost whispering. “All you gotta do is turn up the accent a bit, talk some about how you think you’re falling for her, they’ll love it.”

Jared nods. He’s not the best actor, but it can’t be that hard to pull off. “What are you going to say?”

Cowboy smirks, “I’ll figure it out.” He makes Jared practice his speech twice before they call time and have to line up in front of the big camera. He pushes him out when it’s Jared’s turn like a kid going to kindergarten, “You’ll do good, Tex.”

Jared blinks at the camera, running his hand through his hair. Cowboy gives him a thumbs up from the sideline. “Uh hey, America. I wanna stay, cause I’m really startin’ to like this girl. Didn’t think I would, bein’ on camera an’ all, but I do. So vote for me, yeah?” He gives the camera his best dimpled smile before someone calls next and he’s pushed out.

Cowboy grins at him. “Man, you’re in for sure.”

“You think?”

“Mhmm. Right off the bat when you touched your girly ass hair, showed this little bit of skin right there.” He thumbs the point of Jared’s hipbone, licking his lips. “I’d vote for ya.”

Jared ignores the insult, leaning towards Cowboy. The other man gives him a pointed look, eyes darting to the cameras. They quickly turn their attention back to everyone else doing their bit. The rest of the house guests are all showcasing a talent, singing or dancing mostly. “Why didn’t we do that?” Jared asks.

Cowboy snickers. “Cause we’re not tools.”

Jared rolls his eyes, wincing when yet another girl tries to sing Justin a thirty second love song. He zones out for a long time, only coming back to earth when Cowboy leaves his side.

He swaggers up to the camera, looking right in the lens when he flips off his hat and bites at he swell of his lower lip. Cocky smirk in place he says, “Hey, I’m Cowboy.” His voice is lowered at least two octaves, gravel deep and hitting Jared right in the stomach. Sounds like he just got throat fucked, or woke up after drinking half a bottle of Jack.

“Vote for me, and this house ain’t ever gonna get boring.” He winks lewdly at the camera and pulls his hat back over his eyes, leaving a good ten seconds before his times up. Jared’s pretty sure he’s safe.

Cowboy walks straight over. “How’d I do?” His voice still hasn’t switched back and Jared barely hears the question.

He clears his throat twice before answering. “Um, pretty good.”

Cowboy skims a finger over the jut of his hip again, “Just pretty good?”

Jared nods, plucking off the cowboy hat and placing it on his own head. “Might as well have just said ‘fuck me’ if you were gonna talk like that.”

Cowboy chuckles, deeper still. “Maybe later, baby.”

He walks away, leaving Jared with his hat. It’s a few seconds before Jared realizes that he just called him baby. And that he sort of liked it.

After everyone’s done, they’re all organized on individual stools facing the twins. There’s a game show host theme to the set and each of the twins have matching pink and blue clipboards. The camera’s are set up in a wide circle around them, getting every angle. It’s only when everyone’s caked in make-up and posed that Justin starts speaking.

“Welcome to the Chance at Love Question Period! This is all for America’s sake. They’ve been sending in questions all week and we want to see how you’ll answer them. Don’t worry about competing, everyone’s going out clubbing with us later tonight!”

There’s an audible sigh of relief. Some people here have never won a challenge. Jared can sympathize; sitting in the house all the time gets boring.

“So without further ado, let’s find out some dirt on you guys!”

Unsurprisingly most of the questions are sexual or about dating. It’s interesting to see who America favors, some people are getting loads of questions, while others only get one or two. Jared’s starting to worry, after ten questions he hasn’t gotten a single one, neither has Cowboy.

So far he’s learned that Boots has had a threesome, and that if Yo-Yo was going to sleep with one person in the house it would be Pickle. Jared fidgets in his seat and tries to prepare himself for his turn.

Finally, Justina turns to him, “Cowboy and Tex, out of 1435 questions sent in a whopping 782 were for one or both of you. That’s more then half.”

Cowboy and him exchange a look, maybe they hadn’t been as careful as they thought. Jared gives her a sheepish smile. “That’s um..”

Cowboy bounces on his seat. “Awesome. Any good ones?”

Justina laughs. “Quite a few actually, but we only have time for a couple. So, this one’s for you Tex.”

Jared nods, heart beating double time.

“Do you make breakfast in bed for all of your friends, or is it just Cowboy?”

He feels his face heat up and he laughs, rubbing the back of his neck. “To tell you the truth, he won’t even get up unless you’re waving coffee in front of his face. I don’t got a choice!”  
Cowboy wrinkles his nose. “Not true.”  
“It is! I’ve seen you find a cup of coffee with your eyes closed. You’re like a bloodhound.”

Cowboy gives him an exasperated look, but he knows he’s right.

Justin pipes up with another question, “Okay, this ones for Cowboy. What’s your favorite one of Tex’s dance moves?”

Cowboy’s up from his seat before Justin’s done speaking, looking at Jared with a gleam in his eye. “Man, how can I choose, they’re all so good.”

Jared gives him the finger.

“My all time favorite’s gonna have to be the lasso. Never gets old.”

Jared laughs, twirling an imaginary lasso over his head and roping Cowboy, who pretends to be caught and hops closer to him.

“Dork,” he says affectionately before stepping back onto his stool.

Justina’s looking at them like a pair of puppies. “You two are adorable,” she says. “This last ones for the both of you. What’s your dream guy or girl?”

Cowboy’s hand goes to the ring on his finger, like it always does when he’s thinking about something. He lets out a puff of air. “That’s a toughie.”

Jared looks at him, wants so badly to say, from Texas, green eyes, freckles maybe. But he looks to Justina instead. “I think we’re both tired of short-term relationships, I’m looking for someone that gets me, you know?”

Cowboy nods. “Yeah, I’ve had a lot of fun, but I need that connection, someone I can see myself staying with forever.”

Jared smiles, refusing to take his eyes of Justina. “My dream girl’s someone smart, laid-back. Blonde hair and blue eyes maybe?”

Cowboy laughs, “Blonde hair and blue eyes for sure. Name might start with a J.”

Both the twins blush, clearing their throats. “Well that’s the end of our question period, you can vote online or call 1-866-780-LOVE.”

All the house guests wave to the cameras, and they go to commercial break.

 

The twins leave in a rush afterwards, claiming to need a few hours to prepare for the club date tonight. They tell them votes will be revealed at tomorrow’s elimination ceremony and pause briefly to give Jared and Cowboy both a kiss on the cheek before they leave. Jared has a feeling they liked their answers.

Cowboy announces it’s too hot to stay inside all day, which is how they end up at the pool, Cowboy wading in the water and Jared splashing his feet idly.

“I wonder what the other questions were,” Cowboy wonders aloud.

Jared curls his toes. “I don’t think I want to know.”

“Would you ever have a threesome with Yo-Yo and Pickle?” Cowboy imitates.

Jared pretends to gag. “Would you rather eat a live grasshopper or a piece of moldy bread?”

Cowboy considers it. “Grasshopper.”

“You’re disgusting.”  
Cowboy tugs on his submerged ankle. “How many times a day do you jerk off?”

“How many did Superman say? Three?” Jared says, letting Cowboy pull him waist deep into the pool.

“Four.” Cowboy says, smiling deviously.

Jared sinks to his shoulders, holding Cowboy’s eyes. “I can’t. With all the cameras and stuff.”

“Not even in the shower?” Cowboy glances around, noting the five cameras pointed right at them. “Yeah, I can see that.”

He watches Cowboy dip his head, screaming under the water till bubbles boil on the surface. Jared follows him down, yelling in his face. They come back up gasping. “I don’t either,” Cowboy says.

“Why not?”

“I like going for awhile without. Makes it hotter when you finally do. All desperate.”

Jared gets it. “You like it desperate?”

Cowboy just looks at him, heat building in his eyes. He dunks under again, floating just below the surface. Jared follows, face hovering just inches away. Cowboy blows a breath in his face, lips red in the blue tinge of the pool. Jared traces a finger over his full bottom lip, gasping when Cowboy darts his tongue out to lick at his thumb. He inhales a mouthful of water and surfaces coughing, chlorine burning his throat. Cowboy hefts himself out of the pool, “Let’s go do some confession, I think we both need it.”

 

They sit in the booth still dripping wet. Cowboy’s slippery back rubs against his chest every time he moves, like some new kind of torture. Cowboy clears his throat. “We’d just like to thank America.”

“For being awesome,” Jared finishes.

Cowboy wriggles in his lap, Jared suppresses a shiver.

“Totally awesome. It’s nice to know we’re your favorites.”

They spend a little more time in the booth, but leave quickly when they realize they only have half an hour left before the group date at the club.

Cowboy throws on a tight black t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Baggy enough to ride low on his hips but still stretching against his ass. He pulls his hat out from his suitcase and looks at Jared, still standing in his swim trunks. “Well, aren’t you gonna get dressed?”

“I, um. Didn’t know we’d be clubbing. Didn’t really pack for it.”

Cowboy rolls his eyes, digging back into his suitcase. He pulls out a white wifebeater. “This’ll do.”

He tosses it at Jared, who raises an eyebrow. “Ain’t this going to be a bit small?”

“Uh huh,” Cowboy says.

Jared shrugs, turning to pull the shirt over his head. Cowboy leans back on the Holy Grail, crossing his legs and wolf-whistling. Sure enough, the tank top is a size too small, stretching obscenely over his chest.

Cowboy’s eyes glint. “Perfect.”

He pulls on a pair of jeans and his belt, ignoring Cowboy’s gaze. “What about my hair?” He asks. It’s still wet, sticking up in every direction.

Cowboy stands up, running a hand through it. “What about it?”

Jared leans closer. “Well it’s a mess.”

“I like it this way,” Cowboy drops his hands, eyes still on Jared’s head. “When you put that goop in it, you look like a greaser.”

Jared snorts, but he doesn’t protest, opting to lay down beside Cowboy instead. “I’ll stretch your shirt.”

Cowboy looks at him. “Duh.”

“So you won’t be able to wear it anymore.”

“Will too, I’ll just wear it to bed.”

Jared’s dick twitches at the thought. He closes his eyes a pictures Justina instead, big tits pushing against the white fabric. Nipples poking through. Nothing.

But Cowboy, freckled chest exposed where the shirt doesn’t cling, smelling like Jared and raspberries. He’s already half-hard.

Jared groans, ignoring Cowboy’s confused look. “I’m going to go for a walk or something.”

Jared spends his time sitting in the arcade room staring at the blinking lights of the Pacman console. He manages to avoid Cowboy until the ride to the club. They don’t have to sit as close together anymore, since there’s only eight of them left, but Cowboy does anyways.

Cowboy’s chattering away, but Jared’s barely listening, distracted by the skin showing through the hole in his worn jeans and the cologne he’s wearing. Jared lets out a frustrated huff, earning him a frown from the other man.

“Tex, you listening to me?”

“Uh, yeah, sort of.” Jared doesn’t meet his eyes.

Cowboy shifts closer to him, which doesn’t help. “You’ve been weird all day.”

Jared just shrugs, but Cowboy won’t look away, uncharacteristically serious.

“I’m just tired,” he says.

Cowboy leans in, brim of his hat brushing Jared’s forehead. He looks him up and down, from the worn boots he’s wearing to where the tank top clings to his chest, stopping at Jared’s eyes and licking his lips slow. He smiles, “Yeah, I’ve been tired too.”


	8. Episode Seven

The limo stops and everyone piles out, Cowboy one of the first. Jared stays put, only leaving once the driver honks the horn. The group’s already gone in, but he leans against the brownstone of the building instead, feeling the thump-thump of the music even from outside.

He can’t concentrate when Cowboy’s around, can’t think about anyone else. Whatever he feels for Justina doesn’t even compare. And if what Cowboy was trying to say in the limo is any indication, the feelings are mutual. Jared bangs his head against the wall. He has to tell Justina. He has to get out of this game. It’s fucking with his head.

Right on time, Justina steps out the front entrance. Jared takes a deep breath and walks towards her, “I have to talk to you.”

She smiles, leaning forward to show off her generous cleavage. She’s wearing a slinky gold dress with no back, something that Jared would have drooled over had he seen her about a month ago. “Later, baby. Tonight’s not for talking.”

Justina grabs his hand and pulls him inside, Jared tries to protest but his voice is lost under the pounding of the music. He manages a smile when she presses a toxic green drink his hand, gulping it down in one swallow.

Fine, tonight he’ll dance and drink and pretend nothing’s wrong. Tomorrow he’s telling Justina.

Jared’s never been much of a dancer, too tall and awkward to move properly. But after three more green drinks and too many Paralyzer’s to count he’s basically a pro.

He’s been glued to Justina most of the night, hands on her hips and grinding hard. He’s sober enough to be horny, but just drunk enough to not care. It’s the perfect balance. The lights in the club are enough to give someone a seizure, alternating green and white, flashing randomly like search beams over the crowd.

Jared leans down to nose at Justina’s neck, licking over her pulse and tasting sweat and fruity perfume. She giggles, twisting in his arms. “I think someone’s a little drunk.”

At least that’s what he thinks she says, it’s too loud to tell. “Maybe a little.”

He tries to lean down and kiss her, but it’s a long way and he almost trips. She puts a hand on his elbow. “Maybe more than a little. We better go sit down.”

Jared nods, following her towards the booths in the corner. She’s probably right, things are starting to get sort of swirly.

Almost everyone else is sitting at the table, surrounding Justin. The twin looks up when they approach. “Where have you two been all night?”

Jared wobbles, grabbing the table for support. “Dancin’.”

“I bet,” Justin says, “You seen Cowboy?”

Jared shakes his head, which makes everything spin. Bad idea.

They sit down in the booth, Justina turning around to talk to one of the girls. Jared scans the crowd.

Everything looks like a big mass, a clump of scantily clad shining bodies. Hips churning against each other, people making out in the dark corners next to the couches. Arms waving in the air, cutting in and out every time he blinks, the strobe light making it impossible to see.

A new song starts, blending in with the ending of the last one. He recognizes it vaguely, the saxophone at the beginning making his foot tap against the sticky floor. “I love this song,” he says. Remembering from when Cowboy turned up the radio. Cowboy, he should find Cowboy.

No one notices when he leaves, sitting at the end of the bench and Justina distracted. He wades into the crowd and gets all the way to the bar without spotting him. Jared leans against it and orders another drink, might as well. He’s turning to go back to the group when he spots a straw hat in the fray.

Cowboy’s dancing with two guys, one behind him and another in front. His hips are moving slow, gyrating to the beat. It’s dirty, beyond dirty. The guy behind him, a big blonde with tattoo’s up his arms like snakes, has his arm around his waist, holding him still while the other guy stands between his spread legs. Cowboy looks desperate, wanton, eyes unfocused when the first guy tips a bottle to his lips. Jared watches him swallow, drop of liquid slipping out and dripping down his face. The blonde licks it up, following a path down his throat. Cowboy moans, the shape of it drawn out on his mouth.

Jared starts towards them, abandoning his drink at the bar. When he reaches them, the blonde looks up. “He yours?”

Jared nods. Cowboy’s eyes widen at him, smirk replacing the surprised look a moment later.

The man between his legs steps back, making Cowboy tilt forward uncertainly. Jared catches him. “Should watch him closer. Looking like that, you never know who’ll snatch him up. “

Jared murmurs his agreement, eyes still on Cowboy. He doesn’t notice when the pair of them leave.

Cowboy undulates against him, hardness evident against his hip. His lips are brushing words out on Jared’s chest, and it takes him a moment to realize they’re lyrics.

“Tell me baby, if it’s wrong, to let my hands, do what they want.”

He reaches under Jared’s shirt, his shirt, touching over his abs. Jared’s breath hitches. “We, we can’t,” he says.

“C’mon Tex, we dance in the kitchen all the time.”

“Not like this,” Jared presses closer though, hands just above Cowboy’s ass.

He watches Cowboy’s expression as he tilts his hips just right. Their groins rubbing against each other slowly, enough to make Cowboy gasp. He puts his arms around Jared’s neck, making their bodies slide together, flickering in and out under flashing lights.

“Want you,” he says. Voice rough, eyes pleading.

Jared nods, and Cowboy plucks the microphone off his shirt, tossing it onto the dance floor, “Don’t need that.”

Cowboy stumbles into the bathroom, giving Jared a look. He waits outside, long enough that anyone watching wouldn’t notice they went in together. After a few minutes he pushes open the door, searching the stalls for Cowboy.

He’s in the very last one, leaning against the brick and singing along to the song, still coming in from speakers in the walls, no escaping it. They look at each other for a heartbeat before Cowboy grabs his shirt, pulling him closer and nipping at his mouth. The kiss is filthy, nothing like the first one. Teeth and tongue, Cowboy still moving to the beat. He pulls back, grinding against him. “Late at night I pretend that I—”

Jared dives back in, stealing the next word from his mouth. “Do you? Cause I do. Think about you all the time. Fuck.”

Cowboy doesn’t reply, flipping them so Jared has his back to the wall. “Dancing in the dark.”

He keeps kissing, sure hands flicking off his belt, undoing the zipper. “Please,” Jared says.

Cowboy laughs, head thrown back. Jared makes a move to bite at his throat but Cowboy sinks to his knees before he gets there. He pulls his jeans down, nuzzling against his boxers. Mouth brushing him with every word. “Open my body up and do some surgery.”

Jared cries out, voice hoarse. “For fuck’s sake, Cowboy, stop teasing.”

And he does, yanking his boxers down and pulling the tip of Jared’s cock into his mouth in one movement. He doesn’t even hesitate, swallowing as much as he can take. It’s not all of it, but his lips are almost dripping with saliva and the darting of his tongue’s enough to make Jared’s hips twitch forward.

Cowboy gags, but he doesn’t make a move to stop him, eyes challenging. Jared does it again, Cowboy’s throat working on his dick when it hits the back of his throat. Jared takes off the other man’s hat, putting it on his own head and grabbing onto Cowboy’s short hair. “Such a whore.”

Cowboy hums what sounds like agreement, vibrations running into Jared’s back, down to the tips of his toes. Cowboy starts moving his head forward with every thrust, getting used to it. His mouth is stretched wide open, little guh-guh noises escaping when Jared pushes too far. He hasn’t made a move to touch his own dick, both hands on Jared, eyes closed.

There’s spit running down his chin when he flicks his tongue into the slit, cat eyes half lidded, watching Jared from the floor. It’s too much and Jared can feel tell tale shivers racing down his spine. He tries warns him, gripping his hair and groaning out, “Fuck—I’m—Cowboy!”

But Cowboy just closes his eyes again, head bobbing one last time before Jared comes down his throat. He can’t swallow it all, some falling over his mouth when he pulls off. He spits into the toilet and Jared watches from the wall, boneless.

Cowboy smirks when he looks back at him, “I wanna taste it, taste it.”

Jared growls, pushing him against the opposite wall, the loud bang reverberating in the stall. Someone raps on the door. “Everything okay in there?”

Jared rips open Cowboy’s pants with one hand, fisting his dick with the other. “Everything’s fine,” he says, barely recognizing his voice.

Cowboy watches him, fist in his mouth to hold back his noises.

Jared wrenches it out, stopping the motion of his other hand. “None of that, want to hear you.”

Cowboy pushes his hips forward into his fist, whimpering. “Jared, someone will hear.”

“So we’re not talking in song anymore?” He teases, rubs his thumb hard just under the head.

Cowboy cries out, trying to move his hips forward. But Jared pulls him farther up the wall, spreading his legs like he was on the dance floor. They tighten around Jared’s hips, boots digging into the small of his back. Jared has to tilt his head up to kiss him, the other man panting into his mouth.

Jared can hear water running, the stall door closing next to them. Just on the other side of the wall he has Cowboy held against. “Please, Jared, so close.”

“That’s better.” He starts up the rhythm again. Fast enough to have Cowboy’s eyes rolling back in his head.

Jared can feel Cowboy’s body tightening, back arching towards him. He moves his hand lower, pushing a blunt finger against Cowboy’s hole.

Cowboy gives one last “Oh!” loud enough for someone walking in to hear, and comes into Jared’s hand.

Jared shushes him, swallowing up his noises. Cowboy mouths against his lips clumsily, more tongue than anything, little whimpers still escaping him. Jared carefully sets his legs back onto the ground, smiling as they pull apart.

Cowboy’s still panting when the song ends. Jared places his hat back on his head, “I think we should tell the twins about us,” he says.

Cowboy chuckles. “Way to ruin the afterglow.”

His voice is wrecked, from Jared’s cock down his throat. Jesus.

Jared kisses him, softer than before, but not by much. Cowboy pushes him away after a bit, “None of that, don’t have time for round two.”

He sighs. “So, you’re okay with telling the twins?”

“Why the fuck would we do that?”

Jared gestures between them. “This is why! You just blew me in a bathroom stall!”

Cowboy smiles slowly, leaning in to kiss him again. Jared steps back this time, not letting himself get distracted. Cowboy gives him a calculated look, zipping up his jeans.

“Tex, you gotta think about this. We’re their favorites. Everyone knows it, it’s why no one likes us. Why would we do something like tell them we’re, you know. This.” He gestures between them, a desperate tone creeping into his voice.

Jared steps back into his space, suddenly unsure of himself. “But we don’t have feelings for them. Why would we stay? I mean, you don’t like him, right?” He tries not to look at Cowboy, but the other man pulls him forward by his belt loops, zipping his jeans up for him.

“Nah, Justin’s boring, Jared.”

“I’m not boring?”

Cowboy rolls his eyes. “No. Now can we get back to the point? If we stay in this a little longer, I’m pretty sure we could win.”

“So what? You just said you didn’t want to be with him, why would we want to stay?”

Cowboy laughs. “You’re lucky you’re cute, Tex. Cause you sure ain’t smart. Do I gotta spell it out for you?”

It’s only a moment before he figures it out, mouth dropping open. “You want the money.”

“Ding-ding-ding, give the lady a prize!”

“But, we can’t do that to them. That’s like cheating!”

Cowboy sighs. “Jared, they don’t actually give a shit about us. Or they won’t after the show’s done. Trust me, we’re not cheating anyone.”

Jared shakes his head, but he knows Cowboy’s right, the more he thinks about it. It might be because he’s drunk, but how many times do the couples on these shows actually stay together? Justina would dump him the minute the camera’s turned off. Jared’s mouth tugs up in a smile. “If we both won, that’s half a million dollars.”

Cowboy’s eyes light up. “We could retire. Buy a little house.”

“On the beach. Our own private island maybe,” he rubs their noses together. Steals a kiss from Cowboy’s lips.

“Now you’re thinkin’.”

Jared pulls back after a moment, mind whirling. “So what? We just pretend we’re into them?”

Cowboy leans his head against he stall, eyes half mast. “Can’t be that hard. Already been doing it for two weeks.”

Jared grins. “Why’s that?”

“You gonna to make me say it?”

Jared nods.

“Cause of you.”

“Awww,” Jared says, watching the blush grow on Cowboy’s cheeks. The other man tries to stay serious, but he starts smiling too.

“Shut up. So no more of this okay? We gotta pretend like there’s nothing here.”

“So we win this thing, take the money and ride off into the sunset together.”

Cowboy’s already opening the stall door, “You got it.”

Jared walks out, trying to fix his hair in the mirror. “You’re a bad influence.”

Cowboy gives him one last kiss before heading towards the door. Jared calls after him, “Hey, I should probably know your real name.”  
Cowboy dips his hat at him. “Tell you if we win.”

Jared waits another couple minutes before leaving, locating their booth across the room. Justina smiles when he walks up, “Where you been, Tex?”

“Dancin’.” He says, trying to ignore Cowboy. Who already has Justin in his lap, whispering in his ear. Lips still red from sucking Jared’s cock.

“Are you okay?” Justina asks.

He sits down, traces a hand over her back and kisses her hard. She blinks up at him when he pulls away, sugar-pink lips wide open. Jared meets Cowboy’s eyes across the table. “Perfect.”

That night is both exactly the same and completely different from the rest. Their both still on the edge of drunk, enough to know they’ll regret it in the morning. They fall into bed in a tangle, wrap up in Cowboy’s blanket and stare at each other in the darkness. They got in shit from the sound crew as soon as they got to the house and had new microphones in minutes. Now they can’t talk without risking someone hearing it and it’s that much harder after their few minutes of freedom.

Cowboy’s tracing letters on his back, trying to spell out a sentence. Jared has to mouth the letter and it’s hard to see if he’s getting them right because their hiding under the covers, away from the cameras. After a couple minutes Cowboy makes a frustrated noise and hops up, going to the kitchen. He returns with a pad of sticky notes and a pen, hidden behind his back.

I feel like a spy, he writes. Letters crooked.

Jared grabs the pen. I can’t believe I’m actually doing this.

Cowboy smiles. Don’t think about it. Think about the beach.

Jared kisses the note, presses it to Cowboy’s lips. He rolls his eyes, but kisses it anyways.

“Night,” Jared whispers.

“Night.”

They take turns puking the next morning, rubbing each others backs and exchanging mouth wash. “I’m never drinking again,” Cowboy groans.

His head disappears back into the toilet seat, gagging noises ringing in the bathroom. Jared wrinkles his nose. “I think I’m done, gonna take a shower.”

Cowboy looks up at him, string of vomit on his chin. Jared wipes it up with a piece of toilet paper. “Thanks.”

Jared takes off his shirt, stepping into the shower. Cowboy stays wrapped around the toilet. “When I’m out, I’ll make you something greasy and then we can go for a swim or something. Might help your stomach.”

“‘Kay,” Cowboy says, head resting against the tub. Jared flings out his underwear.

“Then we’ll have a nap. Don’t think we’re going to get much done today.”

“Nope.”

When Jared gets out, Cowboy’s gone. He finds him curled up in bed, bucket next to his head. “Don’t want to eat?”

Cowboy fake gags, then actually gags. “Can’t even smell food right now.”

“Swim?”

“Don’t want to throw up in the pool.”

Jared runs a tub instead, filling it to the brim with bubbles. He tells Cowboy to put on his swim suit and mostly carries him down the stairs. They put his bucket on the corner and leave the door open in case one of the girls wants to do their make up.

“This isn’t so bad,” Cowboy says, making shapes out of the bubbles.

Jared tilts his head. It’s a pretty big tub... “Think I could fit in there too?”

Cowboy curls up. “Don’t see why not.”

Jared runs upstairs and puts on his trunks, ignoring the odd looks he gets from everyone else when he gets back to the bathroom. He slips in opposite Cowboy, letting his legs fall open so the other man’s legs can sit between them. Jared sighs, headache disappearing when he hits the water.

“Awesome.”

Cowboy murmurs, wriggling his toes against Jared’s inner thigh. “I always wanted a big tub, with jets and everything.”

Jared closes his eyes. “Uh huh.”

“And a pool table. Not like the sissy one in the games room. A real one.”  
“Mhmm.”

“Nice big deck out into the backyard. To barbeque and stuff.”

He smiles, picturing their house. “Big enough for dogs to run around in.”

“Yeah, for sure.”

Cowboy strokes a foot over Jared’s crotch, making him hiss. There’s no cameras pointed at the shower. But there’s still one outside the bathroom, and the door’s wide open. Cowboy does it again and Jared can’t help moving his hips down, thrusting up against the water. He freezes when Kitty walks in, plopping her make up bag down in front of the mirror. This is going to take awhile.

“Hi guys!” she chirps.

“Hey,” they say in unison. Cowboy pulls his foot away, going back to playing with the bubbles.

The rest of the day is spent in bed, playing go fish, which must make for some pretty boring television. Jared’s almost relieved with the gong sounds for eliminations. They dress as fast as they can, watching the crew set up the room downstairs. Once make-up’s done with them they assemble on the stairs, Cowboy once again all the way across the room.

Elimination is a little bit harder now that he cares if he goes home or not, seeing as he’s playing for 250,000 dollars. He listens to every speech, not just his own and Cowboy’s. Jared wants to see who he’s going to have to knock out in order to win.

Justina calls his name first, “Tex, America definitely loves you. And I think I’m getting there too. Will you accept another chance at love?”

Jared nods, dipping his head to let her put the necklace over top. He kisses her sweetly on the lips and walks to his spot behind the podium. Unsurprisingly Cowboy’s name is called next.

“Cowboy, America voted for you the most out of everyone. So whatever you’re doing when I’m not around, it must be good.” Justin’s smile is blinding and Jared fights back a laugh, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

“Will you accept another chance at love?” Cowboy does, kissing Justin and taking the necklace. Jared’s eyes narrow.

Cowboy saunters up once he’s done and tries whispering in Jared’s ear. Jared shushes him, “I’m trying to listen.”

Justina calls Angel a sweetheart and says, “I can see a future with you.” No kiss.

Justin says Kitty, “Is awesome, and the life of the party.” Kiss on the cheek.

Justina has the last necklace, she plucks it up, taking a deep breath. “Superman.”

The big guy with the bright red “S” on his bicep shuffles up shyly, receiving a big kiss from Justina. Jared frowns, turning his attention back to the three left on the stairs. Yo-Yo’s already crying.

It’s revealed that America only voted for Yo-Yo 210 times. The man throws a tantrum when he leaves, security having to push him out. The other two girls look ready to explode beside him, but luckily they leave without a fight.

They have their champagne in the doorway, all announcing “Top 5” to the cameras. They wrap up quickly after that, it’s already late and they’ve got another challenge to film tomorrow. Jared sips the last of his champagne and shares a look with Cowboy. The other man raises his glass, draining the last of the liquid in one gulp. Jared follows suit. He can already feel the adrenaline buzzing in his veins. If they’re going to get to the end winning another challenge certainly wouldn’t hurt.


	9. Episode Eight

Jared’s up bright and early the next morning, whistling as he walks into the kitchen and switches on the coffee maker. He used to think he wasn’t the kind of person that would fake their way through a reality television show for half a million dollars. Funny how a month in a mansion full of crazy people can change someone’s perspective on life. Jared’s expecting some sort of morality crisis at some point, but right now he’s doing pretty okay. That is until he returns to their room with breakfast.

Justin’s curled up next to Cowboy, smiling at his sleeping face. He doesn’t look up when Jared walks into the room, just says, “Justina’s downstairs.”

Jared stands awkwardly by the bed for a moment before setting the coffee down on the nightstand and going back to the kitchen. He resists the urge to kick a chair across the room. That’s his bed, his spot. Why the fuck is Justin here so early anyways?

He fumes silently for a few minutes before hearing Justina’s high giggle from downstairs. Time to get to work. Jared climbs down the ladder, ignoring Justin still sprawled on the bed and purposely leaving his shirt behind in the room. He comes up behind Justina and wraps his arms around her, quickly putting an end to her conversation with Kitty. “What’s got you here so early?” he asks, letting his lips brush the shell of her ear.

She leans back into him, fluttering her eyelashes. “You didn’t hear? We’re moving in. Thought it was about time we got to seeing more of you guys.”

Jared’s stomach drops, but he manages a smile. “Perfect.” If the twins are going to be in the house 24/7, that means Justin’s going to be around Cowboy all the damn time, and he’s going to have to stick to Justina like glue. Fucking perfect. He gives Justina a kiss on the temple and heads towards the shower. This morning just keeps getting better.

An hour later and the five remaining house guests are opening the doors to the twins’ new room. It’s on the top floor, door hidden behind a wall covering like their in a haunted house. Jared snorts when the door is revealed, covering it up with a cough when Cowboy shoots him a dirty look. He shrugs at the other man. Could this place get any cheesier?

The room is actually humongous once you step inside, Jared’s surprised no ones stumbled across it before. The twins each have their own master bedroom, bathroom and king sized bed. Of course in matching blue and pink zebra print. He watches Cowboy making himself comfortable on Justin’s bed before heading into Justina’s room.

Superman’s already claimed a spot on the bed when he gets there. Jared takes a seat at the edge, if he’s got any competition with Justina, it’s this guy. He decides to go for friendly, might be the best way to take him out.

“Hey, dude. What’s up?”

It must come out a little forced because Superman props himself up on his elbows, pinning Jared with bright blue eyes. “Not much.”

Jared extends a hand, “I’m uh, Tex.”

Superman seems to snap out of it, smiling at him and shaking his hand enthusiastically. “Superman, I guess.”

Jared laughs, “I know, it’s weird not saying your real name.”

Then Justina walks in and all attention is diverted. Jared feels a slight pang watching Superman talk to her, it looks like he’s really into her. But Cowboy’s right, this is just television, who really knows what’s real.

Jared pushes his way into the conversation, watching Superman’s face fall when Justina latches onto him. His puts his arm around her, getting settled on the bed. As long as he can keep this act going Superman will be gone before he knows what hit him.

Eventually production ushers them out of the twins’ room, assuring them they can come back individually later. There’s another two hours before the challenge, and it’s not hard for Jared to figure out where Cowboy ran off to. The sinks already running when Jared gets there, a dish towel thrown over one of Cowboy’s shoulders.

Jared walks up behind him, resisting the urge to kiss the slice of his neck touched by the sunlight peeking through the curtains. “Look at you, doin’ stuff without me telling you to.”

Cowboy ignores him, swirling his hands through the water lazily.

Jared picks up a dishtowel, drying a plate slowly. Cowboy still hasn’t looked at him, frowning slightly and staring out the window instead. Jared clears his throat. “It’s awesome, the being twins here all the time now.”

Cowboy seems to snap out of is trance, smiling sadly at Jared, “Yeah Tex, awesome.”

They leave for the challenge in a odd mood. After doing the dishes quietly, no dancing, no music. And the other man keeps looking at him wistfully whenever he thinks Jared’s not looking. Jared’s used to crazy bouncing off the walls Cowboy. Not his quiet, brooding twin. Maybe he’s having second thoughts about all this, maybe he’s the one having a morality crisis. Maybe he likes Justin after all? By the time they get to the challenge Jared feels like he’s going to puke, sure Cowboy’s going to rat him out to Justina.

The limo ride is spent in relative silence. Jared realizes that most of the crazies have actually been eliminated, the remaining five are a lot more peaceful than the original fifteen had been.

They pull up to some kind of park, and after some inspection Jared notices there’s a kid’s birthday party going on. There’s a bouncy castle, cake, party hats, the whole nine yards. Justina and Justin walk up once their lined up on the grass, both holding the hand of a little blond girl. The kid smiles, showing off a gap instead of two front teeth.

“I’m Abby, and I’m turning eight today!”

There’s a chorus of confused, “Hi Abby’s. Justina whispers something in the little girl’s ear and she runs off to join the other kids.

“As you can see we’re having a different kind of party today,” Justin says. “You’re going to be running Abby’s birthday for the next two hours. We’ll be watching from the limo.”

Justina smiles brightly, “Both of us love kids, and we want to see how you guys do around them!”

When they open their own limo door Jared catches a glimpse of TV screens lining the walls, it looks like they’ve got the whole party covered. “Good luck, guys! Our top two picks get a private date tonight!” Justin says from an open window.

The car door closes behind them with a click and children swarm them immediately. The girls have the most of them, some of the kids shying away from big guys like him and Superman.

Superman rubs his hands together nervously, walking awkwardly up to a table to get his party hat. Cowboy gives Jared an amused look before following.

Jared’s distracted the whole challenge trying to figure out if Cowboy changed his mind or not. He straps on a party hat and makes a few stilted attempts at making the kids like him, but minutes in he can already tell who the favorites are.

Everyone adores Kitty and Angel. The girls paint their faces and sing songs with them, tugging at their sparkling clothes and sky high heels. Superman’s making a pretty good effort too, giving airplane rides that have the kids squealing.

Jared tries with a couple but Superman seems to be the big attraction. To be honest he’s a lot better with animals than he is with kids. After a few attempts Jared heads over to the bouncy castle, where Cowboy seems to have gathered all the boys.

Cowboy looks up when he ducks in, party hat askew and huge grin on his face. “Hey guys, this is my friend Tex! Say hi, Tex.”

Jared gives a little wave, but most of the kids don’t look up, apparently unable to take their eyes off Cowboy. Their sitting in a circle around him, hanging on to his every word. Cowboy starts up where Jared must have interrupted him, “So I’m on the back of this bull, and it’s bucking and jumpin’ up and down.” He demonstrates, making the whole floor jiggle and Jared almost fall on his ass.

A red-haired kid pipes up, “Do you ever hog-tie em’?”

Cowboy jumps up, all the kids quickly follow suit. “Of course! I can hog-tie anything.”

“Anything?” About five kids ask at once.

Cowboy picks up the closest one. “I could hog-tie every last one of you!”

Jared barely gets out of the way before Cowboy’s buried under a pile of screaming kids. There’s a couple seconds of pandemonium before Cowboy emerges from the pile, sending Jared a grin. “Hey! Hey! Don’t go after me, first one that ties Tex gets an extra slice of cake!”

Ten sets of greedy little eyes turn on Jared simultaneously. He makes an attempt at escaping out the tent flap, but he’s too slow. Cowboy has him by the ankle, dragging him back in to the fray.

The wrestling match lasts until the girls call out for cake, when predictably the kids all pile out in seconds. The two of them are left behind, panting.

Jared tackles the other man, “That’s for setting all the little brats on me.”

Cowboy bucks him off, making the whole castle tip precariously. “Needed something to get you out of that shitty mood, man.”

Jared remembers with a start the reason for that mood. The smiles slides off his face and he covers the microphone with his hand, “You’re not having second thoughts are you?”

Cowboy glares at him, probably because he really doesn’t want to get in shit with sound again. “Fuck no, why?”

“You’ve been weird man.”

Cowboy gets that same guilty look in his eyes he had when they were doing dishes and he leans against the castle wall. “Listen, whatever we do in here, once we’re done it doesn’t matter okay?”

Jared crawls over to him, not trusting himself to stand up without falling over. “What do you mean? What’re you going to do?”

“Just promise me, it won’t matter.”

Jared leans in closer, trying to understand what Cowboy’s trying to tell him.

Just then there’s a strained whooshing sound from underneath them and Jared feels something give beneath his hands. Within seconds the whole castle is coming down around them, hard ground hitting his knees. Jared’s completely covered in the fabric and by the time he crawls out Cowboy’s standing outside, laughing so hard his eyes are watering.

“Dude, there must have been a hole or something.”

“Probably couldn’t take the weight of your fat ass,” Jared snipes.

Cowboy raises an eyebrow, already turning to go get some cake. “Whatever you say, Sasquatch.”

It’s a good thing the party’s almost over, because the kids are none too happy about their bouncy castle being destroyed. They seem get over it when Cowboy initiates a food fight. Jared dodges a flying glob of icing, pushing his and Cowboy’s conversation to the back of his mind. Whatever Cowboy’s going to do, he can deal with it.

By the time the twins get out of the limo all the kids have gone home and every surface is covered in cake. Angel has chocolate in her hair and Kitty’s shirt is ruined. They’re none too happy with Cowboy. Who actually looks the worst off, having gotten caught half way through and attacked. Jared managed to avoid most of it, but still managed get his face painted by some of the girls. Superman is spotless, which is kind of amazing considering the circumstances. The whole park looks like a war went down in it.

Justin whistles. “You guys sure know how to make a mess.”

Cowboy whoops. Jared smiles to himself, figures he’d be good with kids. He’s just a big one himself. It wouldn’t surprise him if Justin picked him.

“Now the winners,” Justina starts. “Kitty, you were great with the girls, you too Angel.”

“Superman, all the of them loved you. They didn’t want to go home! But Cowboy was the favorite, even if he did ruin the cake.”

Justin sends Cowboy a huge smile, and Jared fights to keep the smile on his face. He wants Cowboy to win the date, but at the same time he doesn’t want to share him.

“We’ve decided the winners are Kitty and Angel. Superman and Tex you were kind of stand-offish, and Cowboy, you deflated the bouncy castle.”

Angel practically screams before jumping into Justin’s arms and Kitty looks just as pleased. They all pile back into the limo covered in cake, with a promise from the twins to pick up the two winners later.

Cowboy’s back to normal on the way home, apparently having forgotten what he was thinking about before. He smears even more cake on Jared and spends the whole ride blaming him for deflating the castle with his belt buckle. Which is probably true, but he doesn’t seem to care about losing the date. Unsurprisingly, Jared doesn’t either.

Kitty and Angel leave an hour after returning to the mansion. The house is even quieter with the girls gone. Superman’s nowhere to be found and even Cowboy can’t make us much noise as fifteen people used to. Jared sits in the living room and spreads out on the couch. He still has icing in his hair, but all in all it wasn’t a bad day.

 

That night Jared can’t shake the feeling that something’s off between them. Cowboy makes pancakes for supper, fluffy and perfect. After eating they spend hours in the arcade, trying to beat each others scores at pinball. Jared tries to let loose but there’s a tension that just won’t go away. Cowboy’s smile is strained, like he’s forcing himself to have fun. Jared thinks back to the bouncy castle and wonders again what Cowboy thinks he won’t forgive him for.

Cowboy must notice his shift in mood because he rubs the back of his neck soothingly, his back blocking them from the cameras. Jared wants so badly in that moment to give it all up, they don’t really need the money. But they’re so close already and if Cowboy want this, he does too. Cowboy sounds tired when he murmurs close to Jared’s ear, “Let’s hit up the confession for a bit.”

Jared sits with Cowboy in his lap for the hundredth time this month and wonders how he didn’t see this coming. Even from the beginning they were way too close to just be friends. He tightens his arms around the other man, letting him do all the talking. At least they still have this.

“And then Gigantor here popped the bouncy castle and lost me the challenge!” Cowboy’s trying his hardest to sound pissed, but his mouth is lifting in a smile.

Jared rolls his eyes, knowing Cowboy can’t see him from where he’s sitting. “Whatever dude, I wasn’t the one that started throwing cake around.”

As usual they leave the booth happier than when they went in. The pair of them are curled up in the Holy Grail within the hour. The sticky note pad is sitting between them, nothing on it so far back a crude drawing of a dick. Cowboy’s been quiet for awhile, wide awake, which is odd for him.

Jared picks up the pad,

What’s wrong?

Cowboy glances at it, letting out a huff of breath and chewing on his lip.

Now that the twins are here. Should be with them more.

Jared furrows his eyebrows, well duh.

So?

Cowboy underlines “with them” three times, sending Jared a pointed look.

Aw, you’ll miss me? Jared writes.

Cowboy turns his back to him, curling into an even tighter ball. Jared slings and arm over his waist, burying his nose in the other man’s neck. He’s pretty sure the camera’s won’t be able to make them out in the dark.

Cowboy doesn’t relax, he must be really serious about the whatever secret he’s keeping. Jared rubs his nose against Cowboy’s neck until he pushes back into a him, letting out a little sigh when Jared presses his lips to the knot of his spine. Jared falls asleep thinking about how when they win, every night will be like this.

 

Jared wakes slowly, groaning under his breath. He can feel Cowboy trying to wriggle out of his arms, but there’s no way it’s morning yet. He cracks open one eye to peer at the clock, 2:34 AM. What the hell?

Cowboy manages to get free, walking towards the bathroom without a second glance at Jared. When he gets back, Jared lifts the sheet to let him back in but the other man gives him a regretful look, tucking it back in. Jared’s opens his mouth to ask him what he’s doing, but Cowboy raises a finger to his lips, eyes pleading. Jared lets him wrap the blue blanket tight around his shoulders, ghosting a kiss over his forehead. When Cowboy pulls back his eyes are wide, green shining in the low light.

“You promised,” he whispers, breath smelling like fresh toothpaste. Jared’s too sleepy to figure out what he’s talking about and he makes an aborted gesture to pull Cowboy back into the bed. The other man turns away, carefully climbing down the ladder. Jared waits thirty seconds before following him.

Cowboy tip toes down the hallway, stopping in front of the gaudy painting that covers the twins door. He opens the hinge with a creak and glances around once before slipping inside. Jared stands in the hall for a minute, body gone numb. He stumbles back up the ladder in a haze, flopping back into bed and pulling Cowboy’s blanket tight around him. So that’s what he meant when he said ‘with them’. Fuck.

Jared stares up at the darkness of the ceiling, trying to ignore the red blink of a camera in the corner of his eye. This is a competition, you have to do some things in order to win. They’re going to win. They’re going to have a house with a big tub and a barbecue and dogs. This is rational, this makes sense. Cowboy still left their bed to go sleep with Justin and he made Jared promise that it would be okay. But it’s not okay, it’s fucking not okay.

Jared watches the minutes tick by on the alarm clock, telling himself he's not waiting for Cowboy to come back.


	10. Episode Nine

Jared barely remembers getting out of bed and dressing. He doesn’t eat, scared if he tries he’s going to get sick. The make-up department tsks at the bags under his eyes, loading his face with some goop before pushing him out for eliminations. He hasn’t seem Cowboy all morning and refuses to look at him now. He’s forced to face Justin though, and the blonde man’s practically glowing. Jared wants to punch him right there.

Justina’s looking at him, concern written on her delicate features. He tries to give her a reassuring smile, but it comes out more like a grimace. She gives him a thumbs up, probably thinking he’s nervous about being eliminated. Right now that’s the last thing on his mind.

Justin calls Cowboy first. Jared forces himself to look at the ground as the other man walks up. He jumps when Angel lets out a bark of laughter.

“Is there a problem, Angel?” Justina says.

The small woman crosses her arms over her chest, “Hell yeah there is. That little slut sleeps with Justin and he gets to stay around?”

Even Superman looks surprised. Jared’s guessing the date didn’t go very well, or else Angel wouldn’t risk going home over this. He expects Cowboy to say something, but the other man just takes the necklace. The tips of his ears glowing red.

Justin bristles. “Angel, don’t talk about him like that. That’s not why he’s staying.”

“Of course it is! Everyone saw him sneaking out this morning.”

“What Cowboy and I do in none of your concern,” Justin says, defensiveness showing in his voice.

Angel’s down from her spot on the stairs now and security is starting to creep out from the shadow already. “It is when I’m the one going home instead of that whore.”

Jared clenches his fists, if she were a guy he’d be hitting her right now. But his Mama taught him to be nice to ladies, even if they are bitches.

He smiles instead, letting Angel see it. Predictably she takes the bait. “What the fuck are you smiling about?”

Jared shrugs exaggeratedly, “Just thinkin’ that your date must have been fucking horrible for you to be talkin’ out like this, Angel.” He puts the emphasis on the last word, sarcasm dripping from his lips.

Kitty covers a laugh behind her hand and Angel lunges at her. She manages to get a grip on her hair before security pulls her off, kicking and screaming. Kitty looks shell-shocked, her hair sticking up in tuffs and her dress askew from trying to dodge out of the way. They quickly go to commercial break while Angel is being dragged away.

After she’s gone the crew assembles them with their necklaces and turn the cameras back on. They can still hear her screaming when their pouring the champagne. Justina gives her token, “To another chance at love!”

The whole ceremony is done quietly and everyone drinks with less gusto than the top four should.

Jared tries to meet Cowboy’s eyes when he takes a sip from his cup, but the other man’s quickly flicker away. Jared remembers when Cowboy was larger than life, fighting and swearing his way through the house. He just hopes there’s some of that guy left when this is all over.

 

Cowboy goes straight back up to the Holy Grail when the twins return to their rooms, even if Justin tried his hardest to make him come back with him. At this point Jared’s ninety-nine percent sure Cowboy’s got it in the bag. Out of the remaining four of them he’s the only one Justin even pays attention to.

Kitty approaches him after Superman returns to his room, hair still slightly tangled. “I can’t believe she would go after me like that, all I did was laugh!”

Jared nods his agreement. “Probably because she knew she couldn’t take me.”

Kitty laughs, smiling up at him. “Is it true, Cowboy and Justin?”

Jared shrugs, avoiding her eyes. Kitty looks like she wants to say something, but her eyes dart up to a camera at the last second and her mouth snaps shut.

“Well uh, good for them. Justin’s head over heels for him.”

All of the exhaustion from the night catches up to him at once, and Jared stumbles a bit. “You never know,” he says weakly.

“Are you okay?” Kitty asks.

Jared shakes his head, walking towards the ladder. “Just need some sleep.”

 

Jared gets to the top of the ladder to find Cowboy completely covered in blankets. He still looks cold, shivering underneath the pile. Jared takes a quick detour to the bathroom to wash off the heavy make-up and crawls into bed. Cowboy doesn’t say anything, but Jared doesn’t expect him to.

Jared pulls him tight to his body, wishing he could risk kissing him in the daylight. He realizes soon that Cowboy isn’t shivering from the cold, he’s actually shaking. Jared makes vague shushing sounds, rubbing his back under the blankets.

It’s a long time until Cowboy falls asleep and Jared watches him for awhile after that. He smoothes the line in his brow with a finger and says, “I promised.”

They sleep the majority of the day away. Waking later in the afternoon to eat. Neither of them say anything, Jared’s not sure what he would say. He makes Cowboy spaghetti, his favorite. But the other man doesn’t touch it. Kitty walks in at some point and tries to start a conversation, but it falls flat, the unease in the room swallowing up the words.

Cowboy hits the showers after dinner and Jared doesn’t follow him. He sits in the confession booth instead, making up some shit about how glad he is that Justina kept him around. Cowboy comes and finds him later, pulling him towards the pool without a word.

They strip to their boxers and jump in, Cowboy’s grip on his hand painful under the water. He pulls Jared to the centre of the pool, as far from the cameras as they can get.

“I didn’t. I didn’t, Tex.”

His voice is hoarse. He probably hasn’t talked all day.

Jared laughs. “Don’t have to explain yourself to me.”

Cowboy pulls him closer, desperate. “Jared, please, I just want to go back to normal.”

Jared forces himself to look him in the eyes. “Didn’t what?” he asks eventually.

Cowboy ducks his head, relaxing his grip. “We just talked a little, went to sleep. That’s it.”

Jared knows he’s telling the truth, just maybe not the whole truth. It stings, but this isn’t the time to be talking about it. And he misses Cowboy, more than anything he wants things to be normal too.

He lets the smile threatening to grow on his face show. “Yeah, enough with this emo shit.”

Cowboy starts to smile too, even if his eyes still look tired and sad. Jared can fix that.

Jared dunks him under the water, and soon he’s laughing again. Texas accent coming out when he swears, spitting water in Jared’s face. When they’ve tired themselves out they lay on the deck, staring up at the starless sky. Jared looks at Cowboy, grin still plastered to his face. He repeats “they just talked” over and over in his mind. Jared shakes his head. He basically had a breakdown, all because Cowboy had a sleep over with Justin.

“What’s wrong with me?” he asks, when they’re toweling off outside the pool.

Cowboy gives him a heated look, “Nothin’ we can’t fix.”

Oh, yeah. Jared thinks, they’re back to normal.


	11. Episode Ten

Jared wakes with a heavy sense of deja-vu. Cowboy’s fast asleep on his chest, one leg hooked over his and snoring slightly. He remembers freaking out the first time he woke like this, now he feels lost without it.

Everything’s going to work out, he thinks. It’s sort of become his mantra. Every time Justin kisses Cowboy, it’s going to work out. Every time they disappear together, it’s going to work out. Jared closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, there’s only four of them left, he can do this.

He pushes Cowboy off lightly, earning a snuffle and a frown from the sleeping man. Jared saunters into the kitchen, scratching his belly and yawning. He’s surprised to find Justina already there, cooking eggs on the stove.

“Hey!” she says over her shoulder. “You want some?”

Jared blinks. He hadn’t expected her to be a morning person. “Uh, yeah sure.”

She smiles widely at him, obviously looking him over when he bends to get the orange juice from the fridge. “Now that’s a view I could get used to in the morning.”

Jared scratches the back of his neck, uncomfortable with the attention. “I didn’t think you’d be up this early.”

Justina raises an eyebrow. “This early? It’s almost 11.”

Jared looks past her at the clock, 10:48. “Guess I slept in,” he says.

He must have been more tired than he thought, Jared can’t remember the last time he slept past nine. Cowboy’s a terrible influence.

He hears grumbling from the hallway and a second later Cowboy shuffles in, still cocooned in his blanket. “Mornin’,” he grunts to Justina.

Cowboy sits down next to Jared on the island, leaning his head on his shoulder and yawning so wide his jaw cracks. Jared wrinkles his nose, “Gross, morning breath.”

Cowboy squints at him, blind without his contacts. “You love it.”

“Nuh uh.”

“Yuh huh.”

Justina puts two plates of eggs and toast down in front of them, plus a giant mug of coffee for Cowboy. He wriggles happily in his seat, leaning across the table to smack a kiss on her cheek.

“Hurry up and eat, challenge starts at noon!” She tells them before going back to her room to get ready.

They dig in, Jared’s just happy he doesn’t have to make breakfast for once. Cowboy smiles at him. “Not as good as yours, sweetheart.”

“Bitch, bitch, bitch,” Jared says. But he smiles anyways.

They barely have time to get dressed before everyone’s meeting on the main floor, camera’s set up around them. Justina’s fully made up now, and Jared has a feeling this is going to be an important one.

Justin clears his throat, “This challenge is going to take a little longer than just one day, so be prepared to have some down time.”

Jared frowns, looking at the floor. He’s seen enough reality tv to know what’s going to happen next.

“This week we’re going to your hometown’s to meet your parents!”

There’s mixed reactions from the group. Kitty looks delighted, Superman looks apprehensive and Cowboy looks like he’s going to puke. Jared tries to shift closer to him without making it obvious, but he shies away.

“Cowboy you’re up first. Pack your bags, we’re heading to Richardson, Texas!”

Justin runs up to Cowboy, throwing his arms around him and talking excitedly. The idiot can’t even tell that Cowboy’s less than pleased about the challenge. He finally lets go when Cowboy says he has to go upstairs and pack. Jared follows, knowing there’s already a limo outside waiting to take him away.

Cowboy’s throwing clothes into a duffel haphazardly, mumbling under his breath. Jared tries to stop him with a hand on his arm. “Hey, what’s the matter?”

Cowboy shoots him a glare, “Nothing.”

Jared sighs, knowing he probably won’t want to talk about his family issues on national television. But that’s where they’re headed, he’s not going to be able to avoid it for long. Jared picks up the memo pad, knowing he doesn’t have much time. He makes a quick note and stuffs it in Cowboy’s bag while his back’s turned.

“Guess I better get going,” Cowboy says.

Jared nods numbly and watches him disappear down the ladder. He doesn’t go downstairs to say goodbye.

It’s an incredibly boring two days. Jared works out, eats, sleeps. Eventually one of the producers breaks their own “no contact” rule, to drag him into a confession booth. He’s about to sit down when he sees a pile of cards on the seat. Jared looks at the man quizzically.

“Look, you’re not going to talk without them. And we need some quotes for the commercials. Just hold them below the camera, yeah?”

Jared nods dumbly and the man closes the door. He looks at the red light of the recording camera and back at the question cards. The first one reads, “Why don’t you like any of the other contestants?”

Jared laughs to himself, these are going to be some interesting promo’s. “I didn’t like any of the other contestants cause they were fake. That’s it. But everyone that’s left is alright with me.”

He picks up the second card, “How do you feel about Justina?” Jared skips it. “What’s the first thing you’re going to do when you leave the house?”

“First thing I’m going to do when I leave. I dunno, sleep for a month probably.” Jared leans back in the chair, “This place is so fucked, you know? They call it reality, but it’s so far from it. In the beginning, everything I did, in the back of my mind I’m thinking, my Ma’s going to see this, the whole world’s going to see this. And now? Nothing. You have to make this other you, that doesn’t give a shit what anyone thinks.”

Jared looks straight at the camera, leaning in. “Who I was when I came in here wouldn’t have made it this far. But the new me, he’s going to win it.”

They come back around noon the second day, Jared hears the front door open with a creak and scrambles down the ladder. A second later he wishes he hadn’t. Justin and Cowboy are making out hard in the doorway, Justin’s arms wrapped tight around Cowboy’s neck. Jared stares for a moment before pulling Justina into a quick hug.

“Hey, cutie,” she says. And Cowboy finally glances up. He looks like absolute shit, which makes Jared feel a little better.

The two other house mates are gathered behind them, and Jared realizes they’re about to announce who’s going next. Justina pulls away from him with a smile, “Sorry to keep you guys waiting, but we’re heading straight back to Texas.”

Jared sees a flash of panic in Cowboy’s eyes that mirrors his own. That means another two days without him. Jared tries to sound enthusiastic for Justina’s sake, but he’s already trying to figure out how to talk to Cowboy before he has to leave.

The other man untangles from Justin to follow him up the ladder. They don’t have time to talk about what happened, but if he packs fast enough maybe Cowboy can write some of it down. Jared rips through his bags, just hoping that he brought at least on clean pair of underwear. He hadn’t expected to be going next.

“Tex?” Cowboy says behind him.

Jared doesn’t turn around. “What?”

He hears the other man lay down on the Holy Grail with a sigh. “Didja miss me?”

“Course not.”

Cowboy pulls the sticky note Jared left him from his pocket. “Liar,” he says.

Jared watches him write something out of the corner of his eye and stuff it in his duffle. Justina calls for him from downstairs.

“I better get going,” Jared says.

Cowboy nods, rubbing at his eyes. “Have fun.”

Jared throws his bag down to the first floor and climbs the ladder. The limo’s already waiting with the twins inside. He actually can’t wait to see his family, and he’s already done two days without Cowboy, he can do another two.

They get a private jet out to San Antonio. Jared’s never flown first class before, let alone on his own plane. Justina finds it adorable, even if it is old news for her. The spend the short flight raiding the mini bar and letting Justin pout in the next aisle.

He can already make out group of people waiting for them on the runway when the plane starts to slope down. There’s a huge sign with “WELCOME HOME TEX” written in block letters, his sister jumping up and down like a cheerleader beside it. Jared can’t hold back his excitement, with all the drama in the house he hadn’t realized how much he missed home until now.

As they land he hears Justin scoff under his breath, “Well, this is different.” Not for the first time Jared wonders what exactly went down in Richardson.

He holds Justina’s hand as he’s walking down the runway and his Mama breaks out of the group to envelop them both in a bear hug. She’s wiping away tears when she pulls away, “I’m just so happy to see you baby.”

Jared gives her another hug, taking in the scent of home she always carries with her. “I missed you too Mama.” He releases her to tug Justina closer to his body, putting his arm around her a beaming at his family .

“Hey guys, this is Justina and her twin brother Justin.”

Justina smiles, “Hi, Mrs. Tex!”

To Jared’s relief Mama doesn’t hesitate to take Justina’s hand and lead her towards the rest of the family. She’s talking her ear off already about how they’ve just been so excited to meet her and Justina’s nodding along as she goes. Jared breathes a silent sigh of relief, Justina’s not exactly dressed conservatively and he wasn’t sure how Mama would feel about her.

By the looks of things he’s got this challenge cased.

Jared can smell his favorite meal cooking as soon as the door to the house opens. He inhales deeply, asking, “When’s supper gonna be ready?”

Everyone laughs and Mackenzie pats his stomach. “He always thinks about his stomach first.”

Mama’s already got an apron on when she pokes her head out of the kitchen. “It’ll be five minutes, I know my boy.”

Mackenzie casts him a look, “Five minutes is enough to break out the baby pictures isn’t it?”

Jared groans, but the sound is drowned out by a squeal from Justina. She bounces her way into the sitting room, trailing a laughing Mackenzie. Jared’s left with Justin in the porch, who’s been brooding the whole time.

“You’re lucky you know.” He finally says.

Jared looks around, hoping his brother will rescue him. No such luck. “Why’s that?”

“That your family’s so accepting”

“Yeah they’re great.”

Justin’s about to say something else when Jeff bursts in from the kitchen. “Jay, stop standing around and come help me set the table.”

Jared gives Justin an awkward wave before following his brother. Everyone in the Padalecki family knows if you eat here you get your own plate, so either Jeff came to help him out or he wants to talk to him in private.

Sure enough Jeff walks straight through the kitchen and out onto the deck, giving an exasperated sigh when a camera man follows them out.

“Does he have to be here?” His brother says, gesturing at the man.

“Please don’t look at the camera sir.”

Jared turns Jeff away from it, “Just ignore it, you get used to it eventually.”

Jeff snorts, “Really?”

“Well no, but it’s part of the deal.”

Jeff squints at him running a hand through his short auburn hair before speaking. “What the hell are you doin’ man?”

Jared sinks into a deck chair. “What, with Justina? I like her Jeff.”

His brother looms over him, making him feel all of thirteen again. “With this whole thing! I know you Jay and the guy I’ve been watching on TV isn’t you.”

“I’m not a kid anymore Jeff, maybe you don’t know me as well as you thought you did.” It’s not true, Jared knows it even as he says it. But he can’t tell Jeff everything, not with a camera pushed in their faces.

His brother just huffs and walks back into the house, slamming the door as he goes. Jared waits a moment before following him, not wanting to cause a scene and worry his Mama.

Everyone’s already waiting in the kitchen and Jared flops down in the vacant seat beside Justina, brushing his hair out of his eyes. Jeff is glaring at him from across the table and it must be obvious because Justina leans over and whispers, “Everything okay?”

Jared pecks her on the lips, earning an exaggerated “aww” from Mackenzie. “Everything’s fine babe.”

She smiles brightly at him before digging into her salad, Justin her mirror image on the other side. Jared fields questions from his parents all through out supper and soon even Justin is laughing. Everything’s perfect until his Mama asks if they’ve got beds down there big enough to fit him.

Justina perks up immediately, “We sure do! Even if he does have to share with Cowboy.”

The whole table goes silent, nothing but the sound of Justin crunching on lettuce to be heard. He knows everyone’s been watching the show every week, they had to know about the bed situation. It must be the mention of Cowboy that’s got his family staring at their plates.

“That’s nice sweetie.” Mama says.

There’s a long pause before Mackenzie pushes up from the table, “I say it’s time for dessert!”

They spend the rest of the evening stuffing their faces with blueberry pie (another one of his favorites) and making fun of his “learning how to use the potty” pictures. Jared’s face remains bright red the whole time and his cheeks hurt from laughing when Justina announces it’s time to go.

They get a hotel room in town, even though Mama begs them to stay. It’s pretty obvious they’re packed full already and even while Jared doesn’t want to leave his family he also doesn’t want to sleep on the sofa.

Jared escapes to his room while everyone’s saying their goodbye’s in the porch, saying he has to use the washroom. He pulls out the sticky note he fished out of his duffle on the plane and unfolds it with shaky hands.

Overtop of Jared’s own message Cowboy had drawn a picture of a house with a giant pool in the backyard. “SOON!!” is written next to it, underlined twice.

Jared hears his name being called downstairs and hurriedly pastes the note up with the posters by his bed. Yeah, soon.

The twins are already half out the door when he runs down the stairs. Jared’s about to follow them with his Mama yanks him by the back of his shirt into the kitchen. As soon as they’re alone, the whole facade she must have been putting up drops in a second and she pokes him roughly in the chest.

“Jared Tristan Padalecki, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Jared puts up a token attempt at fooling her, “Nothin’ Mama.”

“Don’t nothin’ me. You may be able to fool that blonde bimbo, hell you may be able to fool the whole country. But don’t think for a second you can fool me.”

Jared darts a glance to the doorway, hoping the twins are preoccupied. “Just trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

He meets her soft green eyes, feeling like a little boy even if he has a good two feet on her now. She pulls him in for one last tight hug, “You better.”

Jared knows as soon as they get in the hotel room that he’s in trouble. There’s only one bed, huge yes, but only one. Covered in rose petals and with a bottle of wine on the nightstand. Justina ushers him in and quickly disappears into the bathroom to change. He has no idea where her brother went.

Jared sits down on the bed, hands starting to shake. He can do this, he has to do this.

Justina emerges wearing a bright pink negligee, clinging nicely to the peaks of her breasts and barely covering her ass. Jared takes a deep breath, “Uh, you look nice.”

She giggles, pouring them both a glass of wine. “I’ve been wanting to get you alone for weeks.”

“Me too.”

She apparently mistakes the tightness in his for something it’s not, because she abandons the wine pouring in favor of climbing into his lap.

“Good,” she purrs.

Jared flips them onto the bed, taking her mouth in a deep kiss and running his hands up her smooth thighs. Justina sighs under him, legs spreading sweetly. He makes a move to put a hand under the fabric and she stops him, darting a glance at the cameras. Thank god, he thinks.

They make out for awhile after that. Justina gushes about how adorable his family is and runs her manicured nails through his hair. After drinking most of the wine she falls asleep on top of him on the bed, snoring quietly. Jared holds her in one numb arm, thinking of the soft cushions of the Holy Grail. He’s got the stale taste of a cigarette she must have smoked in his mouth and he feels like a hooker more than anything.

Justin creeps back into the room moments later, flicking on the light and peering in.

“Hi,” Jared mouths, trying not to wake his twin.

Justin laughs, “Don’t worry, she sleeps like the dead. You two have fun?”

Jared blushes, “Yeah.”

Justin examines him closely, “She really likes you, you know?”

“I know.”

“So you’ll take care of her.”

Jared feels like such an asshole, “Of course.”

Justin’s about to walk out of the room when Jared calls after him, “And you’ll take care of Cowboy.”

Justin smiles, “You and I both know that he doesn’t need anyone taking care of him.”

He leaves without another word, and Jared can’t help thinking that Justin’s got it all wrong.

Jared’s opens his eyes the next morning and finds himself staring into bloodshot blue instead of familiar green. Justina kisses him awake, despite the morning breath and they don’t break apart until Justin saunters in.

“Break it up you to,” he says. “We got a plane to catch.”

Justina sits up with a sigh, one side of her hair squashed against her head. Jared has make up decorating the front of his shirt and her smoked candy smell clings to him like a second skin. He feels like he was used and put away dirty, but there’s not enough time for a shower.

They leave the hotel room within the hour and climb into yet another limo. Jared never thought they’d lose their appeal but after riding in one so often he longs for the comfort of his truck.

They load the plane quietly and take off without a hitch. He makes the mistake of telling Justina that planes always make him nervous and the girl natters non-stop for the next half hour about how she almost died once. She doesn’t notice that the story’s only agitating him more and before long Jared’s ready to take his chances with the parachutes.

When they finally land back in LA, Jared’s tempted to kiss the ground. His stomach’s tied up in knots and he can’t wait to get back to Cowboy. He can’t stand talking to Justina anymore and the only thing that seems to shut her up is his tongue in her mouth. As soon as they climb into the car Jared lifts her onto his lap and kisses her roughly. They spend the rest of the ride making out and trying to ignore Justin at the other end of the seat.

Jared’s practically vibrating with excitement by the time they pull up to the mansion. He presses his face up to the window, watching to hulking shape of the house appear in front of them.

“Haven’t you gotten tired of this place?” Justin says.

Jared shrugs. “Nah, it’s sort of like home now.”

It’s a lie, of course. Jared doesn’t think he could ever call a place with that much neon pink home. But he’s going to have four straight days with Cowboy, just the two of them. It’s an exciting prospect.

Jared bounds up the stairs without Justina. He doesn’t think he could handle waiting through a goodbye kiss. He flings open the doors and shouts, “Honey, I’m home!”

Cowboy’s not there, just Superman and Kitty, both standing with packed suitcases at their sides. Kitty rolls her eyes. “He’s upstairs.”

Jared climbs the ladder faster than he ever has. When he reaches the top he throws his duffle on the bed and heads towards the music drifting in from the kitchen.

Cowboy’s at the sink, up to his elbows in dish water and singing to the radio under his breath. Jared feels a weight lift from his shoulders and he pads up behind him. For a moment he just listens, smiling to himself. He’s not half bad when he doesn’t think anyone’s listening.

Unable to contain himself any longer Jared creeps up behind the other man and puts his hands over his face. Cowboy brings up his soapy hands to trace over Jared’s. “Hmm,” he says.

Jared makes his voice as high as he can, trying to force back laughter. “Guess who?”

“Freakishly big hands? Gotta be Sasquatch.”

Jared lets go to squeeze his ass, making the other man jump. “Nuh, uh. It’s me, Michael Jackson!”

Cowboy whirls around, flicking soap at him. “How old are you, twelve?”

“I live in Neverland, little boy! I never age!”

Cowboy laughs, turning back to the dishes. “Well, get drying, MJ. We got four days worth of dishes to do.”

Jared leans over as he picks up the cloth. “Four days.”

Cowboy grins at him. “Four days.”

They make a schedule, like little kids on a play date. “Cause we can’t waste any time,” Cowboy says.

His good mood’s contagious and Jared hasn’t stopped smiling since he stepped in the room. Soon they have four days absolutely filled up. They pin it to the fridge for Kitty to see when she walks in.

She raises an eyebrow, “So I’m guessing I should make myself scarce on day three.”

Jared looks over the list, “You can’t tell me that doesn’t sound like fun.”

Kitty pats him on the back. “I’ll be in my room if one of you needs to be taken to the hospital or anything.”

“Okay,” Cowboy yells after her. He looks back at Jared. “Hurry up. We have to get prepared for tomorrow.”

Day One is all prep work for Day Two. They have to gather every last blanket and pillow in the house, construct the slip’n’slide and get their food and supplies together. It’s going to be a busy afternoon.

Cowboy runs around stripping sheets off beds and dragging mattresses around. It’s terrifying to watch. The house looks like it got hit by a hurricane. Every couch is seatless, every bed bare. The huge pile they’ve collected sits out on the lawn, impossible to ignore. There’s camera men chasing after them in a frenzy, looking at the mass like they’re not sure if they should stop them or not.

After they’ve got it all they go through the pantry together, looking for things they can store without a fridge. Cereal, jerky, candy and granola bars are the main things. Plus all the alcohol they can find for day three.  
Lastly they find three boxes of garbage bags and tape them together end to end, making a 20 meter chute to the pool. Cowboy wants to test it out, but it’s already dark and they need all their energy if they’re going to make it through tomorrow.

Cowboy nudges him while they’re brushing their teeth, “Do you think we can get the Holy Grail down there?”

It sounds more like, “Doyuhtin Hogra dow ere?” But Jared gets what he means.

“I dow tink so doo, it pree evy.”

Cowboy spits into the sink. “What?”

Jared rolls his eyes, “I said, it’s probably too heavy. If we got it down there we’d never be able to get it back up.”

Cowboy reaches for the floss. “Superman could help.”

“Still.”

“But he’s got super strength.”

Jared almost swallows his mouth wash. “Shut up.”

“C’mon Tex, it’s not like we’ll be around that much longer anyways.”

Jared meets his eyes in the mirror. “Fine, but don’t come whining to me when we have to sleep outside for the next two weeks.”

Cowboy grins and reaches up to wipe toothpaste off his mouth. “Knew you’d see it my way.”

It turns out constructing a giant blanket/pillow fort that spans the entire backyard area is harder than you’d think. For one thing Cowboy wants to be able to slide directly from the fort into the pool. Which means they have to structure the whole thing around the slide. If that isn’t hard enough the damn sheets keeps falling over when the sides are jostled the wrong way. Nevertheless they get set up by noon, even if it does look like it’s ready to collapse on top of them.

“Now this, is a masterpiece,” Cowboy says. He’s laying on one of the mattresses that’s not supporting a wall, the dappled sunlight playing across his face. Jared kisses his nose, linking their hands together.

The whole beauty of the blanket fort idea is full cover from the outside cameras. If production’s really determined to get a camera man in he’s going to have some trouble getting all the equipment into the cramped space. As much as a pain in the ass the thing was to build it’s buying them three whole days, camera free.

Kitty comes to investigate eventually, shimmying her small frame past the slide. “Whew,” she says. “This is actually pretty impressive.”

Cowboy grins. “I’ll give you the tour.” He point out towards the pool. “Entry way.” Gestures around them. “Master bedroom.” And to the small area behind them that they don’t go in because Jared’s not sure how it’s currently staying up. “Games room.”

She doesn’t look convinced. “It’s under construction,” Jared says.

Kitty flops down beside them, squinting up at a small gap in the roof. Cowboy calls it a sun-roof, but really they just ran out of sheets. “You guys are seriously going to sleep out here?”

“Hell yeah we are!” Cowboy says.

“Well have fun you crazy kids. I’ll be in the house, like a normal adult.”

She crawls back out the entrance, nearly falling into the pool on the slide. Cowboy tackles him as soon as she’s out of sight, curling up at his side. “This is the best idea I’ve ever had.” Jared agrees, but he’s not going to say so. Cowboy’s ego is big enough as is.

After a leisurely afternoon nap they gather all the soap in the house and start dousing the slide. By the end, there’s enough bubbles to fill the pool twice over and they both smell like strawberry soap. Jared starts upstairs to go put on his trunks but Cowboy stops him.

“Can’t do it in our clothes, dude.” Jared says.

Cowboy grins, pulling his shirt over his head. “So we won’t.”

Jared watches him tug of his pants, hand hooked in the boxers. “It’ll work better naked anyways.”

Unlike in the fort they’re out in the open once they get in the pool, all the cameras will see them, not to mention Kitty. Cowboy licks his lips. “C’mon, I dare ya.”

Jared watches him fling off his boxers, streaking towards the slide. He yells as he goes, “Hurry up Tex, we don’t got all day!”

Jared can’t believe he’s doing it but he runs towards the slide, throwing off clothes as he goes.  
Cowboy crashes in first, emerging in a burst of pink bubbles. He gasps for air at the surface. “This is great!”

Jared doesn’t waste any time following him, cupping his junk and diving face first onto the slicked garbage bags. He hits the surface with a splash, spitting soap out of his mouth. Cowboy’s already pulling out of the water, running back to the slide entrance. Jared floats on his back, watching the firm muscles of his legs bend to get in. He could get used to this.

Eventually they tire themselves out and are forced to put some clothes on. They eat sandwiches in the kitchen, planning how they’re going to get the Holy Grail down the ladder.

“So we get the mattress down, and disassemble the rest of it?” Cowboy says.

“Why do we need the rest of it?”

“The whole point of the thing is that it spins! If it doesn’t spin what is it?”

Jared shrugs, “A bed.”

“That’s right, a bed. We have like ten beds in there already. I want the Holy Grail.”

So they get to work, tossing the mattress down is easy. But the merry-go-round part is too heavy to throw that far. Plus after taking the mattress of they realize there’s no way to take it apart. Jared sits on the wire frame, dumbfounded.

“It’ll break if we just toss it.” Cowboy’s said it three times, it’s still true.  
Jared jumps up. “So we make it not break!”

“Huh?”

Jared runs down the ladder, Cowboy close behind. He starts pulling beds out from under the fort, trying not to ruin the whole thing. “We make a landing pad,” he says.

Cowboy stares at him for a moment, smile growing on his face. “You sir, are a genius,” he says.

They manage to make a pretty large target, but there’s still a chance the frame could miss it. Jared drags it as close to the balcony as he can, squinting at the floor below. “Think we can make it?” He asks.

Cowboy scratches his head. “We’ve come this far, might as well try.”

They take three heaves and throw the metal frame over the edge, wheels and all. The thing sails down, makes two huge bounces and lands safely on the mattresses. Cowboy lets out a huge whoop, hugging Jared enthusiastically. “Holy shit it worked!”

“What, you thought it wouldn’t?”

“Hell no, thought we’d destroy something for sure.”

Kitty gapes at them from the kitchen. “I can’t believe you two idiots actually pulled that off.”

Cowboy takes a bow and they scurry back down the ladder, pulling all the beds back into the fort.

The Holy Grail is set up in the master bedroom and Jared has to say, it looks good there. Cowboy crawls on top of him on the bed to straddle his legs. Jared rests his hands on his hips, grinning when Cowboy rocks down against him.

“Proud of yourself, smarty-pants?” Cowboy asks, voice breathless.

Jared pulls him down to brush their lips together lightly, contrasting with the harsh way their hips grind together. “Uh huh,” he says.

Jared pulls down his shorts as quietly as he can, using his other hand to cover Cowboy’s mouth. They cameras may not be able to see them but the microphones are still on. He pushes the other man flat on his back, laying between his legs and pulling down his underwear. He takes a moment to admire the cut of Cowboy’s pelvis, something he’s been wanting to see since day one. He trails down to the impressive girth of Cowboy’s dick, flushed red and just begging Jared to touch.

“Tell me about Justin,” Jared says, spitting into his hand and slowly jacking him off.

“Jared,” Cowboy pants, hips twitching up.

Jared slaps his thigh, pulling a startled gasp from Cowboy. The other man keeps talking. “Justin’s great.”

He pushes Cowboy’s legs higher up, holding him still as he sucks the head of his dick into his mouth. He still smells like strawberry soap.

“We, we really get each other.” Jared takes him deeper, humming his agreement. Cowboy’s hands clench in the sheets. Jared licks up the side of his dick, ignoring Cowboy’s attempts to much back into his mouth. He sucks on the head hard, teasing his tongue into the slit and making Cowboy writhe beneath him.

“I’ve never met anyone like him.” The end of the word is cut off with a whine, Jared drags his teeth lightly against the skin, reprimanding. Cowboy surges up anyways, his gasps getting louder.

Jared pulls off, wanting to look at Cowboy’s face. “Do you love him?” He asks.

Cowboy opens his eyes, pleading silently. Jared listens to his harsh pants and waits for a reply.

Cowboy shakes his head, wry smile tugging at his lips. Jared tucks his head back down and takes Cowboy back in his mouth swallowing him down in one move. The other man’s back arches off the feathery bed, “Yes.” He moans, cock twitching as he comes down Jared’s throat.

Jared spits into his palm and reaches between his own legs. He’s already almost there, it’s been so long and he’s never hear anyone moan quite like Cowboy. The other man’s still breathing hard, one hand tangled in Jared’s hair. Jared kisses his fingers, muffling his cries into the sheets when he comes into his hand. Cowboy rises up on his elbows, “Wanna talk about Justina?”

He flips them over before Jared can protest, biting at Jared’s neck and reaching into his shorts. Jared pulls away, blushing at Cowboy’s raised eyebrow. “Really?” Cowboy mouths.

Jared nods, toying with the ring on Cowboy’s hand. “Huh,” Cowboy says, smiling brightly at him.

“What,” Jared asks, squirming under the scrutiny.

Cowboy stretches, eyes still on him. “Nothin’.”

Kitty gives them an odd look when they come back in for dinner, they must look pretty flushed. They eat quietly, feet tangled under the table. Jared wants to get back to the fort right away but production’s already pissed at them so they go to confession instead. They climb into the booth together, staring down at the menacing red light of the camera. Jared knows his Mama figured him and Cowboy out, he wonders how many other people have.

Cowboy does most of the talking. He talks about slide construction, how they got the bed down, every word accompanied by a different gesture. Jared gets tired just watching him. “Right Tex?” He says.

Jared blinks at him. “What?”

Cowboy laughs, rubbing his thigh where the camera isn’t pointing. “Yeah, it’s been a good day.”

They make out like teenagers in the fort, sound muffled under blankets. Cowboy hisses every time Jared’s stubble rubs against his face, pulling back just enough to bite at his reddened lips. He dives back in though, just at rough. Jared laughs. “Why do you keep doing it if you don’t like it?”

Cowboy ignores him, teasing his tongue along the roof of his mouth instead. Jared opens up easily, savoring the taste of sweetness and peppermint. “Never said I didn’t like it,” Cowboy murmurs when he pulls away.

Jared smiles at him in the darkness, summer air blowing the sheets towards them. Their cast in shadow, lights from the house illuminating only half the bed. Jared flips over, staring up at the sun roof.

“You star gazin’?” Cowboy says, tugging of Jared’s arm and finding his place at his shoulder.

“Ain’t no stars.”

Cowboy wriggles around to stare up too, “Is so, there’s one right there.”

“That’s a satellite, dumb ass.”

“Close enough.” He kisses Jared on the bolt of his jaw, eyes drifting shut.

Jared runs his hand through the other man’s hair, “Night.”

By some miracle the fort isn’t blown over by the wind in the night. The first thing Jared sees in the morning is bright blue sky, that and the tuft of Cowboy’s hair that’s hitting him in the face. I could do this every morning, he thinks.

Not the sleeping in a blanket fort part, the part where he knows Cowboy’s going to have pillow creases all over his face. And that he’s going to rub at his eyes with a fist when he first wakes up, then stretch in his back like a cat in the sun. Every morning.

Jared knows he probably loves him. He’ll forget it by the time he’s fully awake, like a dream that you can’t quite remember. He holds onto it now though, nudging Cowboy up with soft kisses and quiet words. Jared watches the morning ritual change to accommodate him, curling around instead of arching up. He holds fast to the fading idea, thinks that if he can manage not to let go than maybe it’ll make it real.


	12. Episode Eleven

They’re too drunk by the time Kitty leaves to say a proper goodbye. They stumble out of the crumbling pillow fort instead and wave jerkily through the screen doors. Jared keeps having to steer Cowboy away from the pool, scared if he falls in he’ll drown. Day three consists of getting as wasted as they possibly can. He doesn’t remember whose idea it was but he’s going to pin it on Cowboy, cause it wasn’t a good one.

“Tex! I can do a cartwheel.” Cowboy has a full bottle of some fruity vodka in his hand, they’ve gone through all he beer already. Jared takes a swig.

“Yeah? Show me.”

The cartwheel isn’t half bad, considering the state they’re both in. Jared swirls the drink around in his mouth, swallowing with a gulp. He plants both feet solidly on the ground (harder than it sounds) and windmills his arms.

The maneuver goes awry half way through and Jared lands in a heap on the ground, vodka spilling into the grass. “It’s okay,” Cowboy says. “It’s your first try.”

Jared nods, hypnotized by the pink liquid seeping into the ground. “Do you think it’ll make pink flowers?”

Cowboy lays down beside him, resting his head on his arms. “Pink vodka flowers?”

“Uh huh.”

“I dunno, probably.” Cowboy picks up the bottle, finishing it off and staggering inside to get more.

Jared squints up at him when he returns, noting the yellow hinge of the tequila in the sunlight. He grins, “Hell fucking yeah.”

 

The whole purpose of drunk day was to make sure that they wouldn’t jump each other at a bad time. They figured if they can be completely smashed and manage not to make out, they can do it sober.

Jared moans into Cowboy’s mouth, thrusting into the circle of his fist. It was a doomed idea from the start.

“Fuck.” Cowboy swears under his breath, pink tinged lips forming a perfect ‘O’. Jared licks around them, sucking on his tongue until the tequila taste disappears and only Cowboy’s there. The other man whines, too loud, but they’re past caring.

He thinks about the sounds Cowboy’s going to make when he finally gets to fuck him and that’s all it takes. He spurts around Cowboy’s hand, milky white staining the neon of the Holy Grail.

Jared brings his fingers up to Cowboy’s mouth, still dirty with his come. Cowboy’s half lidded eyes fall shut, sucking the fingers into his mouth with a stifled cry. “Jesus H. Christ,” Jared swears. Remembering the feel of that talented mouth in the club.

Cowboy bites down hard and he’s coming too. The Grail is definitely going to need a good cleaning. Jared flops down, feeling the warmth of the alcohol swirl in his belly. Cowboy follows, swaying slightly. Jared looks at the west wall, “Fort’s fallin’ down.”

Cowboy doesn’t turn his head, “Sure is.” And they both pass out.

 

Superman’s standing over them when Jared comes to, arms crossed and surrounded by what’s left of the blanket fort.

“What the hell is this?” He says.

Jared crawls to the edge of the Holy Grail and vomits into a bed sheet.

“This is the best fort ever constructed!” Cowboy yells.

It still smells a little like sex but mostly like puke. Jared fishes around for some more of that fruity shit.

“Why are you still drinking! You just puked all over someone’s sheets!” Superman looks a little frazzled, hopefully they weren’t his sheets.

“Drunk day,” Jared slurs, gargling the vodka and spitting it out onto the grass.

Cowboy wobbles up from the bed, slinging his arm around Superman’s shoulders. “Don’t worry! We got it under control.” Then he pukes all over his shirt.

Jared laughs manically, tossing Cowboy a nearby bottle of Captain Morgan’s. The other man takes it gratefully, swigging it down and spitting it back out.

“There’s only one cure for a hangover,” he says.

Jared wades through the sheets.“Keep drinking.”

Superman leaves in huff, throwing off his shirt as he goes.

Cowboy laughs. “That guy has the biggest stick in his ass.”

“Fo sho,” Jared mumbles.

 

Jared’s not really sure what goes down in the confession booth. They babble for a really long time, laying on the floor mostly. Sitting up has gotten dangerous. Eventually they make their way back to the ruins of the fort, laying down in the Holy Grail. “Superman’s not going to help us put this back up is he,” Jared says.

Cowboy swings lazily, looking very green. “Hell no.”

Turns out drinking your way out of a hangover works better in theory. They both pass out still in their clothes, surrounded by empty bottles and bed sheets.

 

The next day is miserable. No way around it. Neither of them has eaten anything so there’s no throwing up. Jared’s head still feels like someone’s hitting it with a hammer though and Cowboy’s been laying motionless on the grass for a very long time. Jared hits him with his foot, “We gotta get inside.”

He loops his arm around the other man’s shoulders and they limp through the doors like soldiers coming off a battle field.

They wind up sharing the couch, wrapped in the one clean blanket left. Superman mocks them from the kitchen, “You guys want any breakfast?” Jared raises a weak arm to give him the finger.

Cowboy’s fast asleep but Jared’s headache just won’t quit. He’s still awake when the twins return with Kitty.

Justina walks over to the couch, wrinkling her nose, “You smell like puke.”

Jared sniffs his shirt, “Yeah, sorry.”

She pats his head lightly, lifting up the blanket to peer at Cowboy. “He looks dead.”

“He’s breathing, I can feel it.”

Justin sits down at the other end of the couch, catching sight of the mess in the backyard. “What happened outside?”

Cowboy blinks awake. “Jared, I’m hungry.”

Justin frowns at the use of his real name, or maybe it’s that Cowboy hasn’t acknowledged his presence yet. Justina returns with some Advil and Jared would kiss her but his breath is probably awful. He gulps down the glass of water with one swallow and realizes he’s a bit hungry too.

“Let’s get you some bacon,” Jared says, rising from the couch with some effort.

The twins leave them to go talk to the other two, Jared doesn’t blame them, he’s little more than a zombie at the moment. Also now that his headache’s subsiding he realizes they both smell like a dump truck. They forego eating just long enough to shower. The stench is that bad. Jared’s worried Cowboy’s going to drown, so he sits on the toilet seat and waits.

“That was a stupid idea,” Cowboy yells over the pounding water.

“It wasn’t so bad.”

They switch places when he’s done, Cowboy sitting on the floor with his blanket. “I’m gonna have to wash this,” he pouts.

Jared peeks his head around the curtain, “It was getting pretty dirty anyways.”

Cowboy nods, stroking the fringe slowly. Jared ducks back under the spray, washing out his hair. They both leave the bathroom feeling a little more human, and by the time they eat lunch, they’re almost back to normal.

Justin bounces up the stairs, jumping into Cowboy’s lap. “Feeling better, baby?” He says.

Jared fights not to roll his eyes.

 

The rest of the day is spent convincing Superman to help get the Holy Grail back into their room (Justina helps a lot) and washing load after load of sheets. Cowboy still refuses to wash his blanket.

“No, it’ll smell different.”

“It already smells like puke, how much different could it get?” Justin says. He’s been attached to them all day, holding Cowboy’s hand or resting his head on his shoulder. It’s bringing Jared’s headache back. “It’s just a blanket, babe, who cares?”

Cowboy tosses it in with the load, pulling the smaller man into his arms. “Not me,” he says.

Jared talks to Justina for a couple minutes, just long enough to ensure he’s not the one going home. She still seems really into him, talking avidly about his family and taking every opportunity to touch him. He feels bad for Superman, but the guy isn’t vocal enough.

Eliminations come up on them fast. Before he knows it he’s standing on the stairs, facing the twins on the podium. It’s hard to believe there’s only four of them left. Jared remembers there barely being any room to stand up there.

Justin starts off with his speech, of course to Cowboy. “Cowboy, I know you have some family issues, but you tried to overcome them. Seeing that strength from you made me love you even more. Will you take another chance at love?”

Jared takes a deep breath. Did he just say that he loved him? They make out for a solid minute, tension in the room doing nothing to tamp down Cowboy’s cocky smile. He gives Jared the thumbs up from behind the podium.

Justina catches his eye for a moment, then grabs one of the two remaining J necklaces. Jared hold her gaze, smiling nervously.

“Tex,” she says. “Your family was so welcoming and nice, and you just made us feel really included. I love spending time with you and I can see a future together. Will you take another chance at love?”

Jared walks up slowly, fighting to keep his eyes on Justina and not the man standing behind her. She puts the necklace over his head, leaning down to kiss him. He brings his hands up to frame her face.

She looks flustered when he pulls back, blush staining her cheeks. Jared kisses her one more time before joining Cowboy behind them. The other man looks up at him, bumping their hips together.

“Superman, we liked your family, but you seemed very stressed. I want someone I can relax with,” Justina says.

Justin nods, “We’re sorry, but your chance at love has ended.”

Superman storms out angrily, leaving a smiling Kitty on the stairs. Justin picks up the last necklace, “Kitty, we love your family and your bubbly personality. Will you take another chance at love?”

She runs into his arms, giggling the whole way. Jared watches a few camera men go out to where Superman must be, getting his exit interview.

Kitty’s crying with excitement. They all hold tight to their champagne glasses and smile at the camera, toasting to another shot. Jared’s expecting a commercial break but Justin steps back up on the podium.

“We’ve got one more surprise for you three.”

The front doors swing open and a sleek black limo is revealed. “You have one hour to pack your bags. The finale is going down in Vegas!”

Cowboy whoops, throwing his hat up in the air. They both scramble up the stairs to find their stuff. It was all scattered in the last four days and Jared doesn’t want to forget anything. “Man, do I love Vegas.” Cowboy says, grinning ear to ear.  
Jared matches his smile. “This is going to rock.”

 

One hour later they load into the limo’s on their way to another private jet. Kitty clings to Justin beside him, even if the twin only has eyes for Cowboy. Jared holds tight to Justina’s hand, nodding along to whatever she’s talking about.

He thinks about Superman, nice guy, good-looking, here to be with one of the twins. And all he got was a “your chance at love has ended”. Kitty’s going to have to go through him or Cowboy if she wants to win. They’ve made it this far, one more elimination to go.

This jet’s even fancier than the last one. It has pink seats, a blue ceiling and a fully stocked mini bar. The twins and Kitty are currently going to town on something expensive but just the thought of drinking is making Jared nauseous.

It’s only a two hour flight to Vegas but Justin’s already wobbling when they get off. Clinging to Cowboy for dear life. Justina’s hardly better off. Jared ends up just picking her up and carrying her to a waiting limo.

Cowboy and Justin make out the whole way to the hotel, much to Kitty’s dismay. Jared turns his attention to the giggling girl in his arms, “Babe, I think you had a little to much to drink.”

Justina nips playfully at his nose, “Babe. I like that. Think you want to spend the night with me tonight?”

“‘Course I do.”

She kisses him messily, tongue lapping into his mouth. Jared closes his eyes. Only one more elimination.

They arrive at the hotel a few minutes later. It’s connected to a casino and Jared gapes at all the lights flashing as they pull up. Everyone piles out at once, necks craning to take in everything around them. The twins numerous bags are taken up to the penthouse suite. Their rooms are on the adjoined hallway.

Jared only has time to toss his duffle on the bed before Justina bursts through the door and pulls him into her room. It’s shared with Justin, who has his door closed, Cowboy’s rumbling voice filtering through. Jared strains to hear what he’s saying but Justina quickly shuts the door.

“Now where were we?” She says, running a manicured hand up his chest.

Jared swallows, looking anywhere but at her. “Um, babe? Don’t you think we should wait until we’re alone?”

He stares obviously at the camera mounted on the far wall but Justina seems too far gone to care.

“We are alone, sugar.” She pushes him back on the bed with one finger, tossing off his shirt.

Jared’s stuttering out some excuse when he hears a noise from the room beside him. That couldn’t have been, he thinks. But a moment later there it is again, definitely a moan, followed by the thunk of the bed hitting the wall.

Jared grits his teeth, if this is how they’re going to do it, so be it.

He kicks off his pants, pulling a now half clothed Justina on top of him on the bed. She straddles his hips, thin lace underwear soft on his thighs. His shirt goes next, tossed wildly across the room.

“That’s better,” she purrs.

Jared reaches behind her to expertly flip off her bra before flipping her on her back. Justina looks up at him with wide eyes, chest heaving.

“Fuck, you’re hot,” Jared says, leaning down and sucking a pert nipple into his mouth. He traces the outline of the heart tattoo with his tongue, following it from her shoulder down to the middle of her chest.

Justina sighs under him, soft belly brushing his stomach. Jared hears another loud moan from the other room and slides further down Justina’s body.

Her nails rake through his hair as he pulls off her underwear and Jared winces slightly. She smells heady, her pussy glistening with slick. Jared dips in a finger experimentally and she bucks into his touch, crying out. Guess both of the twins are loud.

He presses another finger in, thrusting into her slowly before spreading her pink lips with his thumb. He used to love eating girls out, making them come a few times before fucking them. Jared doesn’t feel much of anything now.

He rubs gently on her clit, tongue darting in and out of her pussy. Justina spreads her legs wider, making sweet keening noises.

Jared’s spurred on when he hears another shout from the other room, fucking into her harder with his fingers and sucking down on her clit. He remembers dappled sunlight in the blanket fort, the way Cowboy shuddered before he came. His whole body rocking down with a little sigh, “Jared.”

Justina screams, “Tex!” And he feels her walls constricting on his fingers, toes curling in. He licks at her as she comes down, waiting until he tugs on his hair to crawl back up his body. He notices the other room has gone quiet too.

She nips at his bottom lip, sucking on his tongue. He realizes too late that her hand is moving towards his boxers, and tries to shift away.

Justina gives him a puzzled look when she cups his cock, still soft. Jared tries his best to look embarrassed, “You’re uh, really hot.”

Justina relaxes back on the pillows, “You are too cute.”

Jared rolls over, thinking about the way Cowboy smiled after. When it had been the truth. He turns away from the shared wall, wishing for Cowboy to be there and not the blonde that stares at him now.

“You should go get ready for supper, sweetie,” she says.

Jared gratefully gathers his clothes, kissing her goodbye in the doorway before stepping into their room.

 

The bathroom door’s open and Jared steps in. Cowboy’s at the sink, brushing his teeth furiously. He meets Jared’s eyes in the mirror, spitting into the sink. Jared closes the door, shutting them out from the cameras.

“Hey,” Jared says, taking his the toothbrush from Cowboy’s hands.

“Hey,” Cowboy replies, voice hoarse. He watches Jared brush his teeth silently, eyes darting up and down his body.

Jared turns to him once he’s done, twining their hands together. Cowboy’s biting his lip, hand hot in Jared’s.

“I don’t...” Jared starts. But Cowboy shakes his head, tipping his head up to kiss him.

Jared hadn’t noticed he had to look up at him before. He kisses him softly, tasting nothing but wintergreen toothpaste.

 

When they come out Kitty’s sitting on her bed, painting her toenails. “What, you two piss together too?” she asks, voice venomous.

Jared guesses she’s figured out what they were doing in the twins’ room. Cowboy winks at her, licking his lips.

Kitty stares at him for a moment, “You know, sleeping with him isn’t everything. This is a show about love, not who can give the better blow job.”

Cowboy laughs, “Guess we’ll see about that, sweetheart.”


	13. Episode Twelve

Everyone’s in a pretty sour mood the next morning. They all had to sleep in the same room, which was awkward to say the least. Kitty spent all night glaring at Cowboy and Jared barely slept because the bed felt odd without him.

They get a seven AM wake up call, and Kitty bolts out of bed so fast neither of them get the chance to shower.

They bounce like kids on the hotel beds instead, trying to get to the porn on the TV. Kitty walks out of the bathroom in a rush of steam, rolling her eyes at them before grabbing her suitcase. It sucks that she hates them now. She’d been the only one on their side. Jared would hate himself too if he was in her place, but there’s not much he can do about it now.

Soon there’s a knock on the door and they’re face to face with another camera man. He points down towards the lobby and all three of them crowd into an elevator. Cowboy’s hair is plastered to one side of his face and Jared still has morning breath. It’s not a good start to the day.

They wait in the lobby for an eternity. People keep stopping to point and take pictures. Some even try to talk to them but production quickly ushers them away. Jared had no idea this many people would know who he was. By the time Justina and Justin step out of the elevators there’s a small crowd gathered to watch.

They wave to everyone standing there waiting and get a loud cheer in return. Skipping the preamble they join hands and face the last three contestants, “Today will be your final challenge!” Justina exclaims.

This gets an even bigger reaction from the crowd. Someone’s even holding a sign now. “I LOVE KITTY CAT.” Kitty’s blowing them kisses, her mood greatly improved by all the attention.

Justin continues the speech, “The winner will pick the order of your individual dates later today, and who they’ll be with.”

Jared smiles. If they win this they could put Kitty on a date with Justina, they’d have it in the bag.

Justina finishes, “Are you ready to start your final challenge?”

Jared mutters, “No.” Under his breath, and Cowboy snickers back at him. They’re led out to the pool side of the hotel anyways.

There’s two speedo’s and a bikini at the side lines, their names embroidered on the back. Jared picks his up with a sigh, there’s no way he’s getting through this without a ball slipping out. Cowboy must be thinking the same thing because he casts Jared a look before disappearing into the change rooms.

The emerge from the rooms one by one, Jared trying to cover himself as best he can. They have to walk by the twins to take their places by the pool and Justin slaps Cowboy’s ass when he goes by, checking him out obviously. Jared runs a nervous hand through his hair.

“Okay guys, there are ten keys at the bottom of the pool. You each have to retrieve all of them. The person with the fastest time at the end is the winner!” Justin says.

Jared’s already scoping for keys. He knows that Cowboy’s faster in the water than him, but is he faster than Kitty?

“The order has been randomly selected and Kitty you’re up first!” Justina says.  
Kitty hops into the pool immediately. She’s so tiny she’s almost over her head in the shallow end.

“Ready, set, go!” Justin says. She’s dips under the water with a big breath, frantically searching the bottom.

The pools huge but Kitty seems to scale it in no time, coming up for air only briefly to put her keys on the side of the pool. Jared keeps track of time in his head, and by his guess she finishes the challenge in just under five minutes, which is intimidating. He hadn’t expected her to do so well.

They all have to turn around as Justina tosses the keys back into the pool. “Tex, you’re up next!” She announces.

Jared jumps into the pool with a splash, hoping the cool water will calm his nerves. The keys are much harder to see now that he’s in the water. This might be harder than he thought.

“Ready, set, go!”

He gulps in air and lowers himself under the surface. Chlorine burns his eyes as he searches the bottom. The first couple of keys easy, but by the 6th Jared feels like he’s searched every inch of the pool twice and he’s starting to panic.

Jared finally finds the last four scattered in the far corner, blown over in the current. He picks all of them up, swimming to the edge to toss them up with the others.

He climbs out of the pool with a smile, noting the way Justina looks at his abs before his face. Cowboy gives him a thumbs up. “You totally beat Pussy Cat.”

Kitty glares at them, arms crossed over her chest. Justin hasn’t seemed to notice. They all turn around again while one of the twins throws the keys back into the pool.

Cowboy canon balls in loudly, surfacing with a laugh. He barely waits for go before he’s under the water.

Jared loses track of time laughing at him. The other man splashes around, nothing like the feminine grace of Kitty. Luckily the majority of the keys seem to have congregated in one place and he’s done in no time.

Jared privately wonders if Justin helped him out on purpose but either way Cowboy was way faster than Kitty. Jared grins at him when he comes out, shaking water all over him like a dog.

“You see, Tex? Faster than a shark.”

Jared rolls his eyes, “Sure, man.”

Justin checks the stopwatch in his hand with a smile, “Kitty, your time was 4:38. Good job!”

Kitty looks worried. Both of theirs seemed a lot faster.

“Tex, yours was 4:00.”

Cowboy punches his arm, Jared knows what’s coming next.

“And Cowboy, you did it in 3:20. Congratulations, you’ve won this challenge!”

Cowboy runs over and scoops a squirming Justin into his arms. “You’re getting me all wet!” He shrieks. But he lets Cowboy kiss him anyways.

Back in the room Kitty curls up on her bed without a word. Jared takes one look at her and drags Cowboy out into the hall. A camera man follows them dutifully and Jared tries his best to ignore him.

“What order are you going to pick them?”

Cowboy shrugs. “What does it matter, there’s no way Kitty’s going with Justin.”  
Jared nods, as long as she doesn’t get a chance with him, Cowboy’s home free. He’s just worried the other girl will manage to charm Justina.

Cowboy looks at him. “You want to go before or after her?”

Jared mulls it over, “After. I want to get the last impression.”

“Sure thing. So they gave me two hours to figure it out, and that took two minutes. You want to check out this hotel?”

Cowboy knows just as well as Jared does that the casino is just downstairs. He gives the other man a look. “You sure that’s a good idea?”

“Name one of my ideas that haven’t been good.”

Jared doesn’t even have to think about it. “Drunk day.”

Cowboy shivers. “That was your idea.”

“Was not.”

“Was too.”

Cowboy opens the door to their room. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not spending two hours in this room, so you can come with me or you can stay here.”

Jared looks at the other man pick up his cowboy hat, standing expectantly at the door. Then back at Kitty pouting on the bed.

“Fine,” he says.

Cowboy grins, taking his hand and leading him towards the escalators. “Turn that frown upside down Tex, I won’t lead ya wrong.”

 

Three hours later Cowboy’s managed to talk a middle aged woman out of half her chips in exchange for a lap dance. Casino security is watching them warily and the camera man who’s been following them the whole time has been on his radio for the last half hour, talking frantically and making gestures towards the exit.

They’ve managed to gain back all the chips they lost at the poker table on the slots and Jared’s in no hurry to get back upstairs.

He hears some bells from Cowboy’s side and leans his head over to see what happened. “Fifty bucks, baby! We’re going to be rich.”

Jared laughs. “You better win the million!”

Cowboy smiles at him. “Don’t worry, we will.”

The camera man finally breaks and taps Jared on the shoulder. “You guys gotta get upstairs, you’re like an hour late.”

Jared fakes surprise, “Holy shit!”

They exchange their chips in a hurry, Cowboy laughing all the way. Cowboy keeps the majority of the three hundred dollars because it was his lap dance money that got it.

They walk into their room to two very pissed twins and one pleased looking Kitty. Cowboy throws the money in the air. “We’re rich!”

Justin crosses his arms. “We’ve been waiting for an hour!”

Cowboy pouts. “Aw, hun. Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you.”

Justin’s eyes light up at that. “Does that mean we’re going on the date?”  
“Of course. You and me, and Justina and Kitty.”

Kitty’s face falls at that, matching Justina’s. Jared shrugs ruefully at her. “Later, babe.”

Justina and Cowboy both kiss him on the cheek before they leave, and Jared’s left sitting on his bed. Surrounded by money.

 

He falls asleep at some point, and when he wakes up Justina’s standing over him at the bed. “C’mon sleepyhead, time for our date!”

Jared glances around the room and notices Cowboy’s nowhere to be seen. Must be with Justin. He straightens his hair in the mirror and follows Justina out the door.

Their date is remarkably similar to his and Cowboy’s morning. Only this time they can buy the chips themselves and Jared’s a lot more bored. He makes Justina blow on his die again, the girl never seems to get tired of it, and rolls them down the board.

She jumps up and down, screeching. “Double snake eyes! You did it babe!”  
Every man at the table has their eyes glued to her bouncing tits, barely hanging on to a scarlet dress. Jared fights not to roll his eyes.

Justina bores of the casino after blowing all their money. They sit at a private booth at the restaurant instead. Justina orders a fruity cocktail and turns to him, suddenly serious.

“I know you’re not happy you know.”

Jared’s a little surprised, he’s not used to her picking up on things. “I’m just nervous. About the elimination.”

Her expressions softens and her hand covers his. “I wouldn’t worry about that baby.”

Jared’s feels the tension fall from of his shoulders. Did she just say he was winning?

They make out in the back booth for the rest of the time and say their goodbyes at the door. Jared was expecting to spend the night with her but Justina shakes her head. “Big day tomorrow, Tex.”

She winks, giving him one last kiss before disappearing around the door.

Jared walks into the room grinning ear to ear. Kitty’s out on the balcony, puffing angrily on a cigarette. Jared locks the door on her.

Cowboy walks out of the bathroom in a puff of steam. Jared glances at the hickey’s coating his neck before jumping on the bed and switching on the TV.

“Looks like you had a good time,” Jared says.

Cowboy rubs at his neck, pulling on a pair of pants. Jared keeps his eyes on the television. “Yeah, you?”

Jared nods. He quickly find that the only channel he can look at is the guide, guess they don’t want them to be able to watch re-runs of their own show. He watches Cowboy curl up in bed instead, it’s weird without his blue blanket around him.

“You should get some sleep,” the other man says.

He’s right. If Justina picks him tomorrow he’s going to have to tell her that he’s choosing the money. It’s all going to be over.

Jared flops onto his back. Holy shit, it’s all going to be over.

By now Kitty’s pounding on the glass, face turning a funny shade of red. Jared watches for a moment before getting up and unlocking the door.

“I can’t believe I used to like you assholes,” she says, storming past him.

Jared would feel bad, but tomorrow the whole country will probably hate him. What’s one more person?

Kitty goes to bed without another word and Jared turns off the light. “Night Kitty,” he says.

“Fuck you.”

“Night Cowboy.”

“G’night Tex.”


	14. Finale

Jared wakes to a man he doesn’t know clapping in his face. He takes in the camera slung over his shoulder and tries not to be disturbed that they were taping in his sleep. He sits up and rubs his eyes. “I’m up, I’m up.”

He wishes he could go back to sleep. He doesn’t want to have to face today just yet.

Cowboy and Kitty’s beds are both vacant so Jared lets himself be dragged down to a conference room on the floor below them.

There’s people bustling all around him and lights constantly being flashed in his face. It’s a lot for a guy who hasn’t even had breakfast yet. He says he’s hungry to a passing woman and manages to get a stale bagel pushed into his hands minutes later. Jared had no idea show business was so demanding.

People he doesn’t even know are dabbing stuff onto his face and plucking at his eyebrows. Every time he tries to take a bite of the bagel someone returns with a brush to blot around his mouth and smudge gloss on his lips. Jared sits stock still and accepts that the whole surrendering your body thing came with the job.

Despite his almost zen state Jared almost loses it when someone yanks his head back and starts going at it with a straightener. There’s only so much a man can take. The people must notice that he’s had enough because right away he’s pushed out onto a green screen facing the man with the clipboard from the first day.

He sits down at the single stool in the centre. “Is someone finally going to explain to me what’s happening?”

“We just have a few questions, they’re good for commercials and what not.”

Jared nods, he knows the routine. Only this time he isn’t talking to a blinking red light, there’s about twenty people just standing around watching him and a huge camera in front of his stool.

“Shoot,” he says.

“Is the experience on “Chance at Love” anything like you expected it to be?”

Jared laughs, taking a deep breath before answering. “It is and it isn’t. I knew coming into this that I was attracted to Justina, but I never knew that I’d be so into her as a person. I wasn’t expecting that kind of a connection.”

It’s a bunch of garbage, he’s heard the same stuff a million times on different reality shows. Figured it would work just as well here.

“Do you think the friendships you’ve formed here will continue after the show?”

Jared smiles, of course they want to talk about Cowboy. “Yeah, that’s another thing I never saw coming. I don’t know how I would have survived this without Cowboy, we’ll stay friends for sure.”

They ask a lot of questions, the majority of them Jared gives some bullshit stock answer. After that they take a bunch of pictures and send him on his way.

He catches a glimpse of Cowboy on his way out, wearing his hat and freckles concealed with make up. The other man winks at him, smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Jared remembers the first day he saw him, before he knew him at all. He was causing trouble with the girls, laughing louder than everyone else.

They’re going to win this money, both of them. And then they’re going to run off together somewhere where no one’s going to follow them with a camera again.

Jared smiles back at Cowboy and walks out the door.

 

The crew won’t let him go back to his room, instead corralling him into a hallway with three chairs. A redheaded girl wearing a headset walks in, texting for a moment before looking up at him.

“Elimination is in half an hour. You wait here and when the time comes your name will come up on one of these three screens.”

There’s three doors, three screens.

“If a twin picked you they’ll be in the room when you go in, if they didn’t the room will be empty. You can make your decision once you enter the room.”

Jared nods and there’s a rush of static from the woman’s headset. She finishes off quickly, “No talking to the other contestants. Good luck.”

Jared has to listen to the spiel twice more when Cowboy and Kitty come in to sit on the other two chairs. Each time it gets harder to hear. He can’t imagine walking into an empty room at this point.

He wipes his damp palms on his jeans, willing himself not to look at the man beside him. Jared goes over what he’s going to say if Justina’s standing in there in his head. He’s thought it over a thousand times but he doubts he’ll be able to say it right if he has to. Jared’s on his way to a full blown panic attack when one by one the screens turn on. At first there’s nothing but white, but then their names pop up in pink bubble letters.

Cowboy, the first screen reads. Kitty’s in the second. Jared has the third.

They all stand up, Cowboy giving him one last look before adjusting his hat and opening the door. Kitty strides in purposefully, walking with a confidence Jared doesn’t feel himself. He waits for a moment outside before gathering up his courage and turning the door knob.

He stumbles for a moment when he steps into the room, shutting the door loudly behind him. Justina’s standing dead centre, a huge grin on her face.

“Hey, sugar.” She says.

Jared feels like he’s going to puke. “Hey,” he says.

“So now you have a choice. Me.” She gestures down her body. Jared follows her hands, clinging dress, shapely tanned legs, barbie perfect face. Any guy would be crazy to say no to her. “Or the money.”

Jared notices for the first time a silver case beside her. His eyes dart over once before looking back at her. Justina’s still smiling, so sure of herself.

“So what’s it going to be?” She says.

Jared runs his hands through his hair taking a shaky breath. She must know him well enough to recognize it as a nervous habit because the smile drops off her face in an instant.

“Look, Justina, there’s something I’ve got to tell you.”

 

Jared clutches the silver case close to his chest as he climbs in his last limo. He avoids the eyes of the producer sitting across from him, trying to stop his hands from shaking. The man is staring at him intently, tapping his fingers against the window. Finally he smiles, “You know the case is a prop right, there’s nothing in it.”

Jared laughs nervously, putting it down on the seat. “Uh, okay.”

The man leans forward, putting his elbows on his knees. “Don’t worry kid, you’ll get the money. And hey! You’ve set us up for a perfect second season.”

Jared looks away, staring at the highway. “Yeah.”

“So look. The finale doesn’t air for another two weeks, so you can’t tell anyone what happened. Got it?”

“Two weeks? Why?”

“All that filler stuff you did, perfect for hyping up ratings. They’re going to be through the roof with a finale like this.”

The man smiles, shark-like, and Jared feels his stomach turn. They pull up to the airport and the man steps out of the car, straightening his suit. He hands Jared a one way ticket to San Antonio and claps him on the back, “Nice doing business with you kid.”

Jared nods, shaking out of his stupor to go grab his bags from the back. He’s about to walk into the airport when another limo pulls up. He watches another man in a suit get out, followed by a frazzled looking Cowboy.

The camera man still on him hisses, “You can’t talk to him, lets go.”

Jared ignores him, pretending to be rooting for something in his duffle. He waits until Cowboy spots him before going inside.

He feels Cowboy’s shoulder brushing his as they stare up at the flight board. “I’m taking off in ten minutes,” the other man says.

Jared looks up. “Mines in an hour.”

He hears a boarding call for Richardson over the intercom and fights the urge to scream. “Your name, you said you’d tell me your name.”

The camera man stands in front of him, shaking his head. And Cowboy keeps moving further away.

Cowboy smiles. “I’ll find you. How many Jared Padalecki’s can there be out there?”

And then he’s walking away, face disappearing in the crowd.

 

Jared gets the cheque in the mail a week later. After he’s spent seven days screening calls from his Mama, sister, neighbor and everyone else on the planet asking him what happens. He sits at the kitchen table, stroking Harley and staring at it slip of paper. He’s never seen that much money at once before.

Jared jumps when the phone rings. He should just ignore it. It’s an unknown number and he doesn’t want to talk to someone he’s never met about the show. But getting the cheque has messed with his nerves a little, and he goes with his first instinct and picks it up.

“Hello?”

“You get the money?”

Jared’s heart speeds up immediately. “Cowboy, that you?”

“‘Course it’s me. I got mine this morning.”

Jared picks it up, feeling better than he has all week. “Yeah, I got it.”

He hears Cowboy whistle, “You ever had that much money before?”

“Nope.”

“I can’t believe we fucking did it,” the other man says.

Jared laughs. “Me either.”

“So what did you tell her?”

“You can’t tell anybody. Ever,” Jared sighs.

He can hear Cowboy moving, wonders what he’s doing. “Why, it bad?”

“Sorta.”

“C’mon Tex, I won’t laugh.”

Jared smiles, he will too. “Told her I was gay.”

There’s a long moment of silence after which Cowboy laughs for two minutes straight. “You what!”

“I told her she was great and all, but I’m full on gay. So it wasn’t going to work.”

“Dude, that’s awful.”

Jared realizes this. “Yeah, it sounded a whole lot better in my head. So what did you say tough guy?”

“Told him that our lifestyles were too different for it to work,” Cowboy says.

“Oooh. Smooth.”

“Shaddup.”

“I miss you.”

He can hear Cowboy exhale. “I miss you too, you giant girl.”

“Can we meet up?”

Another sigh. “Not until the finale airs. The guy in the limo told me if they caught us, they’d take away the money.”

Jared falters. “They knew about us?”

“Yeah. I’m guessing a lot of people did.”

“Shit.”

He can picture Cowboy’s shrug. The other man takes a long time before speaking. “You weren’t just saying that right? About the house and stuff.”

“Oh, you thought I was serious?”

“Fuck you.”

“I love you,” Jared says. He didn’t plan on saying it, sort of just came out.

“Love you too.”  
Jared’s smiling so hard his dogs are looking at him sideways. “You do?”

“Duh.”

“What’s your name?”

Cowboy laughs again, “Tell you when I see you.”

 

Cowboy calls every day after that. It’s weird at first, both of them skirting around certian subjects before they realize no one’s listening in on them anymore. On Wednesday Jared finally asks the question that’s been bugging him for weeks.

“So, what happened when you brought the twins home?”

Cowboy laughs. Jared pictures him twisting his ring. “My, uh. My folks didn’t know I was into guys.”

“Wait, so what did you tell them when you went on the show?”

“Said that I had to say I was bi to get in.”

Jared shakes his head, “And when you came back with Justin hanging onto you...”

“Yeah they freaked out.”

“Shit.”

Cowboy laughs nervously, “Tell me about it.”

“Why didn’t you tell them?”

There’s a beat of silence, Cowboy hums. “I always sort of thought of guys for fooling around. I thought that I’d find a nice girl and settle down. Never pictured it with a guy. So I never really saw the point in telling them.”

“So why’d you go for Justin at all?”

“Well you liked Justina.”

Jared smiles, it feels like his first all day. “And?”

“And I liked you.”

“Right from the start?”

Cowboy huffs. “Right from the start.”

 

They plan to meet up at a gas station half way between both of them the day after the finale airs. Jared spends all week driving himself nuts. He tries not to leave his house after going to the grocery store and seeing a picture of himself on a magazine. That was weird. Besides, he’s not used to people recognizing him in the street.

He finds a re-run of the show on TV once, at two AM when he can’t sleep. It was one of the first ones. The maze, when Cowboy had run into the wall. He listens to Yo-Yo bitching about them in confessional, watches himself press a bag of peas to Cowboy’s face and wonders how the twins never realized they were getting played. It’s like an out-of-body experience, watching himself like that. Jared turns off the TV before they get to the date. He doesn’t touch it for the rest of the week. He stares at the ceiling the rest of the night instead.

He spends most of his time out in the garage, messing with his truck and worrying. So he has a lot of time to think. About Justina’s face when he told her, sad but knowing. Almost relieved.

He thinks about those first couple weeks, when there was so many people in the house they could do their own thing. When he was nervous to sleep in the same bed as Cowboy. Jared does the dishes by hand, even though he has a perfectly good dishwasher. He sings along to the radio and smiles to himself.

Jared can’t help but wonder if their relationship is normal. Well he knows to some degree that it’s not normal, but he wonders if it will survive in the “real” world. He doesn’t know what it will be like to be together without the pressure of having the money on the line or being found out. The last few weeks in the house passed in a blur, every moment he didn’t spend with Cowboy moved so fast he barely remembers it. He spent every waking second thinking about him. He imagined what they were going to do when they were alone and finally free of the peering eyes of the cameras. Now that it’s a reality what if what they had isn’t there?

Jared shakes the thought out of his head. He loves Cowboy, that much he knows. No matter how screwed up it is, he fell in love with a guy on a reality television show. And Cowboy loves him, so fuck it. Fuck how dysfunctional it is, they’re going to make it work.


	15. Reunion

The finale airs at eight and from then until five AM Jared’s phone doesn’t stop ringing. He wasn’t going to get any sleep anyways but the constant noise is enough to drive him crazy. He listens to the message after message echoing through the walls of the empty house. His sister shrieks for a minute straight before the machine cuts her off. She calls again right away.

“Jared, oh my god, oh my GOD. Holy shit! I can’t believe you did that. Call me!”

Chad’s right after, slurring slightly. “Dude, I’ve seen the way you look at a nice pair of tits. No way you’re gay. What’s going on man?”

Jared covers his ears with a pillow. He’s already wishing for noon to come faster.

 

By six he’s tired of laying in bed and spends an hour on the treadmill instead. He keeps one eye on his cell phone, willing a text from Cowboy.

He’s showered and almost out the door when he hears the beep of the answering machine and pauses. He can tell from the breathy exhale that it’s his Mama. “Jared, I know I didn’t raise you to be a cheater. That boy of yours better be something else.”

Jared shuts the door with a grin. He’s positive she won’t be disappointed.

 

Jared drives down the highway with the windows rolled all the way down and his favorite station blaring from the speakers. His phones propped up on the dash and he’s going well over the speed limit. Jared’s hair whips his face as he smiles into the wind. He’s got money to pay off a thousand speeding tickets.

He’s been getting honks and odd looks the whole drive up. People smiling and pointing as he passes small towns dotted along the highway. He’s a little embarrassed by it, but the excitement far outweighs that.

Jared flips open his phone to read over his last text from Cowboy again. “Gettin a friend to drive me up, meet you at the Esso. I’ll be the one in the cowboy hat J”

He’s almost afraid of driving off the road his hands are shaking so badly, the sign for Richardson coming into view ahead of him. Everything’s in earth tones through his shades, making him feel like he’s looking at the sunlit road through a camera lens. The buttery warmth of the sun hits his cheek and he clenches the wheel. This is real, no cameras, no one else. He picks up the phone just before turning into town and dials Cowboy’s number.

“Hey! You almost here? I’ve been waiting forever.”

Jared gulps in air, trying to calm down. “Look I gotta know your name, please.”

He hears the exhaust kick from a semi in the background. He can imagine Cowboy squinting into the sun, one hand to his ear to block out the noise. He must hear the desperation in his voice because there’s a long pause. Jared hopes he’s smiling.

“My name’s Jensen. Jensen Ackles.”

Jared shapes the words with his mouth, not saying them out loud, not yet. He hangs up without another word, pulling up to the gas station.

He parks along the road, so that the cab is facing everyone standing at the pumps. He’s already catching surprised looks as he climbs out of the truck.

Jared flips his sunglasses up onto his head with a shaky exhale and pulls the box out of his pocket. The world’s too bright all at once, everything a new shade after driving for five hours. Finally seeing in color. 

Jared spots Cowboy on a bench by station, frowning at the phone in his hand. He takes a long breath and yells across the lot.

“Jensen Ackles!”

Cowboy jumps, turning a full circle before spotting him. His eyes fix on Jared, lips quirking before he notices the truck. All at once he’s running towards him, hat forgotten on the ground.

Jared’s on one knee by the time he gets there. Looking up at Cowboy—Jensen—who's about a second away from hyperventilating.

“What are you doing? We are at a gas station smack dab in the middle of Texas!”

Jared ignores him, popping open the box with one hand. “I love you. Wanna marry me?”

Jensen’s eyes flicker between the golden band sitting in the box and the obnoxious red “Marry Me?” painted across the truck. His mouth opens and closes soundlessly, cheeks pink under freckled skin.

“Yes! Yes, okay. Now will you get the fuck off the ground!” He says it in a sort of furious whisper. When Jared stands up, he’s smiling.

Jensen grabs onto the bottom of his shirt, kissing him so hard his head knocks against the side of the truck. Jared pushes back, tasting sweat and sweetness on his skin. When they finally pull back there’s someone clapping and Jensen’s laughing into his neck. “I can’t believe you just did that.”

“Me either.” Jared slips the ring on his finger and kisses him once more before climbing inside the vehicle.

There’s nothing but the sound of wind through the windows and the muted buzz of the radio as they pull out. Jensen clenches and unclenches his hand, tapping it against the dash. Jared tries to keep his eyes on the road but ends up getting distracted by the gleam of the scar on his collar, the reddish scruff he’s never seen on his jawline.

“You’re gonna have to meet my Mama,” Jared says, grinning.

Jensen snorts. “You’re gonna have to meet mine.”

“And then we’re going to have the best wedding ever.”

“Yeah. But first we should run around your house naked, no cameras man. I feel like I can do anything.”

Jared knows all about that. It’s going to be a bitch getting the paint off his truck. “We can sleep till noon, talk about anything we want.”

“Have the noisiest sex ever.”

“Hell yeah.”

Cowboy leans over to kiss him on the cheek before turning the radio up. “I love this song.”

Jared drives back towards home, sun in his eyes and summer breeze on his face. It feels like a fresh start, half a million dollars in their pockets and each other at their sides.

It feels like happily ever after.


End file.
